I Who Should Not Be
by Deception'sChosen
Summary: Eragon and Murtagh are camping near Surda with their dragons when they feel the birth of a new Rider. The new Rider is a girl who comes from an...odd tribe of people called the Wolfborn. What will happen when Galby finds them? Rated M now. Violence & stuf
1. Chapter 1

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

I own nothing! Only Onika and her Dragon! If I actually owned the Inheritance Trilogy, I would be filthy frikin' rich!!

Chapter 1

Eragon sighed and looked over at Murtagh, wondering what the older boy saw as he dreamed. The dark haired rider was leaning against his red dragon's side, his eyes darting back and forth under his eyelids. The younger Rider groaned and thumped his head against Saphira's scaled knee, drawing a soft "ow" after every strike.

"Ow…w… ow… ow."

Saphira opened one eye and watched as her Rider continued to beat his brown haired head against her hard scales.

_Eragon. What in the world are you doing?_

The Rider looked apologetic when she spoke, apparently he had not known that his head would wake her from her deep slumber.

_I'm sorry Saphira. I just feel like we're being watched and-ah!_

Saphira and Thorn raised their heads in unison as both Eragon and Murtagh snapped to their feet.

"What was _that?!_"

Murtagh looked to his dragon as the red giant reared up onto his hind legs and arched his neck trying to see further.

"Thorn says that he thinks it is another Rider being born. Like when you and I were. We're all connected by the magic that binds us to our dragons. We need to find him, and fast. Galbatorix will have felt it too."

Eragon nodded and yelped when he saw a pair of gleaming yellow eyes staring back at him from a bush not three feet from him. A moment later a second pair of eyes joined the first. Murtagh was heading toward the bush, sword drawn, when Saphira blocked his path with her massive tail.

_Wait. I think that's her…_

Eragon tipped his head and looked at Murtagh again as he relayed the message. The older Rider looked to his dragon and sheathed his blade only when the red dragon nodded his great head. As soon as the blade was out of sight, the bush shook and out stepped a girl who was almost as tall as Murtagh with a slender form and wild tawny hair that fell to her waist. She wore a dark green short wrapped skirt to free her long tanned legs that bore scars from what looked to be mostly claws and teeth and a simple sleeveless grey shirt. Her arms bore similar scars to her legs. On her hips rested two short knives that were wickedly curved.

Then a tiny dragon came out from behind her that was the color of polished gold. The creature looked up, stretching out it's little neck as far as it would go, and gave a tiny roar. Saphira responded with a low hum and lowered her head to the tawny haired girl's level and looked her in the eye.

_She doesn't seem to be a threat, Eragon. And she-oh!_

Eragon raised his eyebrows as the new girl reached up and touched the blue dragon's scaly nose with her left hand. Eragon asked Saphira why she had cut off her conversation when the dragon shushed him.

"Eragon?"

"What?"

Murtagh looked at the girl and tipped his head as he sent out mental probes and tried to look into the newcomer's mind.

"I…I think she's talking to Saphira."

"So? Brom could do it."

Murtagh nodded and rubbed his chin absently. Eragon walked to the girl, who edged away slightly at his approach. Saphira looked at Eragon as he held out his hand to the girl.

"My name is Eragon. He's Murtagh. What's your name?"

The girl blinked her yellow eyes and smiled slightly, looking for a moment to Saphira.

_She can't talk, Eragon. At least, not in a language you or Murtagh would understand…_

_Huh?_

Then, to both men's surprise, the girl smiled wider, revealing pointed fangs. She seemed to think for a moment, then let out a soft purring growl.

_She wanted me to tell you that her name, in your language, is Onika._

"You're Onika? Good to meet you Onika."

_She wants to travel with the one who slew the Shade who killed her tribe and the betrayer's son, as he once escaped the evil of Galbatorix._

Murtagh looked Onika up and down, shrugging his shoulders before kneeling down to look at the little gold dragon.

"Does your dragon have a name yet?"

Onika didn't make a sound, just shook her head. Murtagh tipped his head and asked Thorn if he would ask her if she would try to teach him some of her language. Then he could teach Eragon, fearing the language barrier would hinder their battles.

_She thinks that she could try, but very few Tame ever learn to speak her language._

_Tame?_

_She is a Wolfborn. Anything but other Wolfborn are considered Tame._

Murtagh thought for a moment and nodded.

_Tell her that I'm willing to try._

_Why so eager?_

_No reason other than the fact that it takes too long for us to communicate this way. Now tell her!_

_Fine, fine._

He was silent for a time, then Onika nodded and curled up around her dragon and closed her eyes. Eragon and Murtagh looked to their dragons, then to each other.

"I'll take over your watch. You get some sleep."

Eragon nodded and rested his back on Saphira as the dragon drifted to sleep, wondering how Onika would add to their strength.


	2. Chapter 2

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

I still don't own Eragon or any of the trilogy. sigh

Chapter 2

Murtagh groaned and stirred a little as he felt something touch his hair. The touch came again and he opened his eyes and saw Onika leaning over him with the end of her nose touching his hair. He jumped and the girl skittered back, her yellow eyes fixed on him. Glancing around, he noticed that Eragon was gone, and Saphira sat with the little golden dragon between her forelegs.

"Where did Eragon go?"

Onika made a soft barking noise, followed by a chuffing exhale.

Thorn snorted.

_The Wolfborn says that he went to get wood. She isn't sure why you need it._

_Uhm… For cooking?_

_She wouldn't understand that. Her people, though great in intelligence, still live in a very feral manner. That is to say, their food is always eaten raw._

Murtagh nodded.

_So, how does she understand Eragon and I?_

Thorn took a slow breath, but it was Saphira who answered the dark haired rider.

_According to her, all Wolfborn are born with the ability to understand all languages. It does not mean, however, that they can read in said languages. Onika can't read a word, but she could understand anything that was said to her. However, most people are afraid of the Wolfborn._

"Why? It doesn't make any sense…"

_You didn't see what she did to Eragon this morning. If you will permit me to, I will show you._

"Alright."

…………….

Eragon woke and rose to his feet with a long yawn. He stopped when he heard a low growl from his right. Just as he turned to see the source of the growl, there was a blur of grey and tawny hair streaking toward him.

"Eh?!"

With a muted crunch, Eragon was slammed to the ground on his back, a snarling and snapping Onika over him. She held his shoulders with hands that ended in claw-like fingernails flat to the ground in an iron grip.

"Okina?!"

His first instinct was to use magic, but he tipped his head in an attempt to see Saphira as the dragon growled quietly.

As soon as the boy had moved his head, the tawny haired Rider's head snapped down and Eragon felt her teeth on the skin of her throat. Acting on instinct, he went very still, holding his breath. Finally Onika eased up and got up off him, nodding before she held a hand out to help him up. Eragon rubbed his neck and reached out for Saphira's mind with his own.

_What…was…THAT?!_

_She was seeing if you were the dominant member of the 'pack'. She told me of what she was going to do while you slept. Murtagh will be getting the same test sometime later. She warned Thorn about it too._

_So, what does it mean?_

_Well, because you 'submitted' she is considering herself to be higher in the chain of command than you. If she establishes dominance over Murtagh, she will be the 'Alpha' of the group… Unless you can challenge her and win._

Eragon shook his head as he watched Onika walk over to sniff at the dark haired Rider's hair.

_I'm going for firewood. I'll be back soon._

_Alright. Be back soon._

……………………

Murtagh listened to the story (the part about his own impending test was omitted by both dragons) and chuckled. His mental image of Eragon being slammed to the ground and being forced to submit was a humorous one.

"Good morning Onika."

The Wolfborn smiled and nodded while she picked at a long fingernail. Murtagh stood and rolled his shoulders with a groan. He had slept at a strange angle last night trying to keep the new Rider in his vision, and now he was cramping.

Suddenly, he heard a low rumbling. He turned to see the source of the sound and saw Onika crouched down with her eyes locked on the dark haired man. Murtagh reached for his sword, but realized that it was laying under one of Thorn's huge claws. The Rider watched as the girl walked around him, keeping low. Murtagh revolved slowly on the spot, knowing that she was trying to slip out of his field of vision. A moment of worry overtook him.

Was Onika unstable? Would she be turning on them?

_You can't wait for her. She will wait for you to make a mistake. You would do best to attack her._

_Her? What is this about?_

_Dominance._

_So it's like a game? A play fight?_

_Not at all. She is very serious. Oops, here she comes!_

Murtagh gasped when Onika caught his arms and struck at his knees. He went down and gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs. Suddenly, Thorn's voice broke into his thoughts.

_Flip her! Pin her to the ground and growl. When she lifts her chin and stops fighting, act like you are going to bite out her throat, but do not bite down._

Murtagh rocked and bucked his hips suddenly, sending the lighter Rider sailing through the air. She twisted and landed on her knees and came running back at him, teeth snapping and a low growl rumbling out of her chest. This time, Murtagh slung her over his shoulder and pitched her into the dirt. At the sound of her body hitting the ground and the sudden woosh of air out of her lungs, Murtagh went in to end the battle.

Onika yelped and squirmed and thrashed when Murtagh growled and held her down, one clawed hand caught his cheek, leaving three long bloody scratches. Finally she made one last tremendous push, then went limp and lifted her chin, exposing her throat to him. As Thorn instructed, he put his teeth to her throat and held her there for a moment until she gave a tiny whine. When he let her up, she gave him a long look and sat up, making a small huffing noise.

Murtagh looked up to see Eragon coming with wood, the brown haired boy smiling at the pair.

"Hey Murtagh. Did you make anything for – eh?"

Onika crawled over to the seated Murtagh and licked his chin once, then gave a happy bark in greeting to Eragon before going over to Saphira and scooping up her dragon.

"What was that about, Murtagh?"

"I beat her."

"You did?"

_That was the huffing noise you heard her make Murtagh. _Thorn said, pushing his Rider's sword toward the dark haired man. _She called you Leader Male. That is your name to her in her language. Eragon's is Pack Male. If you ever can figure out how to speak her language, you would call her Pack Female._

_She's odd, but it's interesting…_

Murtagh left Eragon to make the cookfire and tapped Onika on the shoulder. When she turned and saw him, she made the huffing sound again.

"How do I say your name in your language, Pack Female?"

Onika smiled and yipped. Murtagh imitated the sound as best he could. She smiled.

:Leader Male.:

:Pack Female.:

Murtagh smiled at Saphira's gentle chuckle and Thorn's snort.

_Maybe you will be able to learn…_

A/N

Thank you to all who have reviewed!! I love to read them!! To answer one question, yes, the Wolfborn are werewolves of sorts. Onika's unique abilities will be shown soon. Also, for future reference, anything written :like this: means it is in Onika's language. The next chapter will be the first where Onika will speak in a way that the dragon's don't have to translate. Also, more about the Wolfborn will be coming in the next chapter!!

Please keep reading and reviewing! Se onr sverdar sitja hvass!! (May your swords stay sharp!!)


	3. Chapter 3

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Disclaimer: I don't own Eragon, Murtagh, Saphira, Thorn, Surda or anything to do with the Inheritance Trilogy!! I only own this story line and Onika and the Wolfborn!!

Please don't sue the starving student!

Chapter 3

Murtagh sat up when he heard Onika whine in her sleep between him and Eragon. He looked at the Wolfborn and listened intently as she barked occasionally into the night. He sighed in irritation when he could only pick out a few words. Onika had been teaching him her language for the better part of a month, and he had made little progress.

When he heard her make the sounds for 'fear' and 'die' Murtagh bit his lip slowly. The idea that had come to him would have been an extreme breech of her privacy, but maybe she would forgive him for it if he could try to alleviate her mental torture. She had been suffering from her nightmares for as long as he had known her, maybe longer.

_What do you think I should do Thorn?_

_I don't care; just don't hurt yourself while you're in there._

With a nod, he lay down as close as he could get to the sole female Rider and closed his eyes as he whispered in the ancient language and took one of her hands in his. The effect was instant and dramatic.

At first, he felt like he was jerked out of his own body and left to float in empty air. Then he felt himself being flung down until he met hard dirt.

_Did my spell not work?_

:Mother-female! Leader-Male! Pups are in danger! Where are you?!:

He spun to see Onika running toward him, blood running out from under her hair. His eyes widened. Littering the ground were the bodies of wolves the size of warhorses and people that looked like Onika.

:Mate?! Mate?! Where is mate?:

_Who is mate? Wait… How am I able to understand her?_

_Because you are in her mind. She knows the language, and so do you by proxy._

_Thorn?_

_Watch, Rider. Look at your friend._

Onika stood over the massive body of a wolf whose fur was the color of snow. The girl dropped to her knees and pushed on one monstrous shoulder, trying to wake the wolf, who he now saw was soaked in bright blood.

:Leader-male! Father-male! Wake up! The pups are in danger! Leader-male, wake up! Please?:

He watched her try for another moment, then stand and look toward where she had come from.

:Pups!:

She ran back the direction she had come from, and he followed as fast as he could. As they ran, he noticed that Onika was changing. Her skin began sprouting thick tawny hair and her ears began to shift higher on her head. With a howl, she launched herself through the air. In the space of two heartbeats there was a giant wolf tearing through the trees. Murtagh groaned and pushed himself to run faster, as the dream Onika ran twice, if not three times, her normal speed.

:Pups! Answer beta-female! Answer me!:

The huge wolfess stuck her nose into the air and froze.

:Shade.:

Onika, still in her wolf shape, whirled when she heard the yowl of one of the pups. The child was running toward her, his human limbs slick with blood.

:Mother-female gone! Where is Pack?:

The little boy had almost reached Onika when a black shape with bloodred hair and eyes appeared behind him. Onika howled and leaped at the Shade and tried to snap the Shade's throat out, but slammed into a tree as the creature dissolved into smoke, reappearing behind the child and lifting him up by his elbows.

:Pack Female! Help me! Hurts! Scared!:

"Stop your whining, brat!"

With those words, the Shade pulled viciously on the boy's arms, making him shriek in agony.

:No! Let the pup go!:

She tried to gain her footing but the world spun around her. Then she heard the snapping and wet tearing as the boy screamed all the louder. She looked up and saw just in time for the boy's arms to come free of his body. The Shade licked the blood off one of his fingers slowly, watching the child wail.

Finally shaken from her stunned fog, Onika sprang foreword and snatched the boy up in her jaws and ran. The Shade laughed but didn't give chase.

:I carried him for days.:

Murtagh jumped and turned to see a human looking Onika standing beside him. He noticed the tears that were running down her face, then reached up and wiped his own face to clear it of his own tears.

"Who was he?"

:He was my brother. The last born to my mother and father. He was strong and beautiful… The Shade… He killed my whole pack. I don't know why he didn't kill me that day. I wish he had.:

"Don't say that…"

_Great comfort Murtagh. She'll love you now…_

:You have not had somebody that you love die in your arms. You haven't had them look at you with such fear but still complete faith that you will be able to fix them… I don't expect you to understand.:

Murtagh bit his lip and looked down. They had talked all the time in real life, but this was the first time that he realized that while she let him know some things about herself, he knew almost nothing of her heart and mind. He wondered if Eragon had noticed the depression that would take over at night that would drive Onika to wander alone into the woods.

_Can I do anything to make it even a little better? I'm not sure if I can…_

:No leave.:

"Huh?"

:Get _**out**_ of my _**head**_!!:

He felt an invisible hand grab him and fling him into the void again and he was slammed back into his own body. He opened his eyes with a rough gasp and jerked. He looked at Onika's now calm face and touched a strand of her hair.

'She's like me…'

His lips curved in a slight smile as an old song came unbidden to his mind. He wasn't sure where he had heard it, but he thought that it fit Onika perfectly.

I dip my hands into this darkness  
This is the ink of all of our lifetimes  
Here in this world of utter silence  
Let the stones speak to me  
Tattooed here across my skin, "I Will Live"  
Like a rose that grows from the wreckage  
Blood red, beautiful  
How the storms all around me are now breathless

Is this the end of the raging road  
Through the tangled mind?  
Is this the end of starlit skies?  
Are we walking blind?

Let me set out through this morning  
Open arms to greet the empty ages  
Reborn, see how I'm circling  
I'm a sailor, eternal

Is this the end of the wasted way?  
Is this the death of time?  
Is this the end of blue psychic seas?  
Are we sailing blind?

Oh, look down on me  
Watch over me as I walk across this world  
Oh, hold me in hidden hands  
Let us go

Oh, look down on me  
Watch over me as I walk across this world  
Teach me how to take my first footsteps...  
to the end...

He smiled and barked softly under his breath to Onika when the girl's brow furrowed and tears started to form.

:Pack Female safe. Leader Male protect.:

Onika made a small sound in her throat and shifted slightly, her face relaxing again. Murtagh closed his eyes again and let himself drift off to sleep again as a thought went through his mind again.

'Always safe. I promise Onika…'

A/N

Hey guys! Thank you to EragonPeep, Spottedstar106 and YoMuM. I love the reviews! I hope you all continue to read and enjoy this story. The song that was used in this chapter was Walking Through the Empty Age by Yoko Ishida.


	4. Chapter 4

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

I own only Onika

Chapter 4

Onika led her dragon, who was still nameless and was now the size of two war horses, to where both Thorn and Saphira waited. The older dragons promised to keep an eye on the younger dragon while the Riders went into a city and purchased supplies for a trip to Farthen Dur. The Riders were needed to help fight an enemy that was invading the dwarf home, but could not be told what it was.

_We will wait here for you._

Onika nodded and took off after the two male riders, issuing a loud bark to get their attention.

Murtagh turned and smiled.

:Pack Female. Safe. Follow.:

Again he lamented his poor ability to speak the language. However, he noticed that since his uninvited visit into her mind, he was able to understand her words. Upon the discovery, he told both Onika and Eragon of the development without telling Eragon about the contents of her dream. The other man had quickly requested to enter the Wolfborn's mind and get a similar understanding of her language. After many tantrums, threats and rude 'scruffings' from all parties, Saphira's Rider was permitted into her mind. However, Eragon found that he had no understanding of the language at all. No matter how hard they tried, he couldn't learn like Murtagh.

:Pack Female?:

:Yes? What is it?:

Murtagh scratched his neck, looking around slowly at their surroundings. He didn't want to bring up the subject of her dream, but there was something that was nagging him about it. Not that the whole thing hadn't bothered him. There was just one thing that she had said that he wanted to ask her about, but didn't know how to…

:Pack Female mate?:

Onika tipped her head and looked confused. Finally she spoke again.

:Whisper your question if you don't wish Pack Male to hear.:

Murtagh sighed with relief. He came up beside Onika and studied her ear for a moment without really intending to. It was pointed like an elf's, but stuck out to the side more, and was longer. Putting one hand over it, he leaned close enough for her wild hair to brush his lips as he whispered.

"In your dream, I heard you call for 'Mate'. Are you mated to somebody?"

Onika's eyes grew sad and she turned her face away when he tried to look at her.

:Not a real mate. We never got around to it. If the Shade hadn't attacked that night, we would have. It was the right night…:

He heard her sniff slightly and saw her wipe her eyes quickly before letting him see a wide smile that didn't reach her eyes, which had hardened until they looked as friendly as a dragon with a hernia. Murtagh saw the remains of tears and panicked.

'Aw shit! I made her cry! ShitshitshitshitSHIT!!'

Without thinking, Murtagh got close to her again, careful not to trample her as the three walked, and made one of the many gestures that she was teaching him. This one, a gentle nudge on the cheekbone with one's nose and brow bone, was a simple apology. He followed it with a quiet whine.

:Sorry. Sorry. Leader Male sorry.:

Relief washed over him when he saw her eyes soften a bit and her smile become less forced. Onika stopped and sniffed the air carefully and eyed the city that was coming into view.

:Almost there. I shouldn't speak while I'm in there, should I?:

:No. Pack Female silent.:

:Leader Male will speak for me then.:

After the pronouncement, she covered her mouth with a hand for a moment.

"Onika isn't going to talk while we're in town, Eragon. What should we tell people?"

"That she's a Wolfborn?"

"No. People are afraid of them, remember? We could say that she…"

He broke off and a slight smile spread over his face. He knew that the people of Surda would give them the supplies they needed either for free or at a steep discount if they were told that two of the travelers were newlyweds. He looked at his companions and called for them to halt and listen to his plan.

"Listen, I have a plan. We're really low on money, and I know for a fact that the Surdans will let us off easy on prices if one of us just got married to Onika. We'll have to spend the night in an inn, so we'll have to keep up the act the whole time, but whoever is playing the part of husband has to be honorable about it. He sleeps on the floor. Sound alright?"

Eragon looked a little put off by the idea, but Onika wordlessly nodded her head and looked at the two.

"Murtagh, who's going to be the husband?"

The dark haired Rider looked at Eragon, then Onika. His first thought was to say 'me you idiot!' but he held back. Onika sighed and picked up a flat stone and cut a mark on one side and held it up to toss. Once it was in the air, Murtagh called faces and Eragon called tails.

Up and up it went, spinning madly before coming down and hitting the ground between the three. It was the marked side up. Onika smiled and pointed to Murtagh, still keeping her word about being silent.

Murtagh's insides gave a happy squirm before he realized something else.

"We don't have any rings… I've only got my old one."

Eragon dug in his pocket and fished out a thin band of silver that had a tiny pearl set in it.

"You can use this. Don't lose it, it's one of Arya's."

The Wolfborn looked touched, for she knew who Arya was and how much she meant to Eragon, and accepted the ring with a nod before turning to Murtagh and holding it out to him.

"You don't know what hand it goes on, do you?"

Onika shook her head as the dark haired man took the ring and slipped it on her ring finger with a slight smile.

"There."

"Now how do you explain me?"

Onika looked at Eragon and rolled her eyes. Murtagh laughed.

"Eragon, the people of Surda know who we are. They don't know about Onika is all. You're still my irritating partner and brother."

Eragon groaned and submitted to a swat on the head for his efforts. Onika smiled at him and shrugged as they continued walking. As soon as they got to the city gates, the tawny haired Rider balked. She had never been in a city in her whole life, she had rarely even been to a remote village to scrounge for food in fact, and this city was far beyond her ability to perceive.

First of all, it stank. Her wolf's sense of smell sent her reeling as they passed herbalist stands, bars and public bathhouses. Worse yet were the piles of refuse that seemed to crop up on almost every street corner. And the noise! How could she describe the din of horses, men, women and children shouting and talking at once even while the blacksmith's hammer rang in her ears?

"You alright?"

Murtagh saw Onika's pained expression and she nodded, moving to cover her ears and nose.

"Ah. Yeah, it's noisy for me, I can't imagine how you feel."

She sighed and rested her forehead on his arm, taking a slow breath. At least when she could smell Murtagh up close the stench from the streets wasn't so bad. Then she sighed again and lifted her head and followed Eragon to the inn, raising her eyebrows when Murtagh took her hand.

"Just go with it."

Onika nodded and looked around. There really wasn't much to say about the inn once they were inside. It was plain with lots of chairs and tables, and was spotlessly clean with a merry fire blazing in the huge stone fireplace. One look at the barman was enough to bring a wide grin to her face. The man, somewhere in his late sixties, had iron grey hair and was so very short! He couldn't have reached her elbows! His face was craggy and weathered like a boulder that had been beaten by the wind for many years, and she was surprised to see great large muscles in his arms. His chest was mostly obscured by his thick grey beard but she could see the powerful muscles beneath.

"Balin. Good to see you again."

The barman looked up at Eragon, then turned his eyes to Murtagh and Onika. After a moment he seemed to recognize the two male Riders and grinned, giving a roaring laugh.

"Well and if it isn't Eragon and Murtagh! Where have you been boys? Oh! And who is this?"

He smiled and bowed to Onika, who smiled and had to fight the temptation to bark a greeting. He looked a little like a very short version of her grandfather, who was named Bull Chaser by a tribe of nomads who had enjoyed the Wolfborn's presence in their territory. Then her smile slipped a little at the thought of her beloved grandfather, who had thankfully passed a few days before Durza's massacre.

Murtagh cleared his throat and put his hand on the small of Onika's back.

"This is Onika. She's my wife."

"Wife?! What nonsense are you talking boy? Is this cur telling the truth?"

Eragon chuckled while Onika pursed her lips in distaste. Usually, at least among her people, calling somebody a cur was grounds for a fight. However, she didn't feel any vehemence behind the word, so she let it go this time.

"It's true. Married her about three days ago."

Balin wiped his hands on a rag and held it out to Onika, a kind smile on his face. She took the hand and was going to lean down and smell it, as was the polite thing to do with her people, when she saw Murtagh shake his head. So she smiled and withdrew her hand and watched the man pick up the rag and begin to rub at a spot on the counter.

"So, where are you from my dear?"

She blinked and looked to Murtagh, who quickly threw together a tale.

"She's from a little fishing village. Nowhere really."

"She looks an awful lot like an elf."

"She is one… Her parents lived among humans…jewelers."

Eragon's words earned him a nod from Murtagh and a smile from Onika.

The man raised an eyebrow and looked at the three for a moment before speaking very slowly.

"I may be an old dwarf, but usually doesn't a woman introduce herself with her own voice?"

Onika felt a rush of excitement. This was one of the dwarves that her grandfather told her stories about! What a shame she couldn't speak to him! She had so many questions! She snapped back into reality when she heard Murtagh's explanation of her silence.

"She was very ill last season, Balin. She had a fever and it lasted so long that when she finally woke up, she couldn't speak. She's very intelligent though, so no playing any tricks!"

The last part of his statement made the men laugh, as both Eragon and Murtagh knew how the dwarf loved a good prank.

The dwarf sobered quickly when he saw Onika go a little grey when a customer came in, letting in the reek of the streets along with his own nasty smell.

"Are you alright? You're probably tired from all this walking and talking. Here, I'll show you to your rooms."

The rooms were decent, with a desk and two chairs along with a washstand and three pretty glass lamps near comfortable feather beds. When Balin ushered Eragon out of the room and shut the door behind him for a moment, he looked worriedly at Onika, who had sat down hard on the bed.

"I'll send up some tea soon. The wife knows her teas, and she can have something made up to help your lady's fatigue. Until then, get some rest. I'll show Eragon to his room."

Turning to the Wolfborn, he smiled and bowed as he said his farewells and left quietly.

Murtagh watched as Onika pulled back the thick blanket and slip under it, sighing and closing her eyes. He walked over and sat down by her, absently smoothing her hair.

:Pack Female tired.:

:My head hurts and the smell is _**awful**_. I won't be much good for a few hours. I'm sorry.:

:Friend mate bring help.:

:Yes. That should be good. I just need to rest and adjust for a while.:

:Alright.:

He looked up and nodded as Eragon came in, his eyes trained on the Wolfborn. He raised his eyebrows and walked in a few steps.

"So we aren't doing anything for a while I'm guessing. Is it alright if I go lie down too?"

"Go ahead. I'll get you before we get ready to get our things. Get some rest."

"You too."

With that, Eragon left. Murtagh sighed and moved to the floor, folding his arms behind his head. This floor was nice, but not very good for laying on…

:Leader Male.:

"What is it Onika?"

:Come up here. You can sleep here too. I'm used to being around you, and this is a really comfortable bed. Come on, you'll sleep better… Please? This new place scares me and… I would just feel better…:

He thought about staying on the floor, after all, he was being honorable if he did. However, she had a point and was afraid of this new place. And if they were supposed to be married, why would he be sleeping on the floor anyway?

He stood and walked to the other side of the bed and got in, snuggling into the blankets with a happy sigh. It really was a nice bed… Then, to his shock, Onika yawned and snuggled up so her back was against his chest and squirmed slightly before settling again and drifting off to sleep. Murtagh swallowed hard and tried to think of what he should do, but soon his own eyes were drifting shut and he was fast asleep.

An hour later, a dwarf woman with a long braid of grey hair opened the door, a steaming kettle and two cups on a tray. She almost called out to them when she noticed two sleeping forms on the bed. She looked closer and saw that Murtagh's arm was wrapped protectively around his wife and the girl was smiling slightly in her sleep.

'Hm. Looks almost like Balin and I when we were first married. I'll just leave the tea here.'

She set the tray on a low table and crept quietly out of the room, shutting the door silently behind her with one final glance back.

A/N

Whew! This was a long one! Ten pages chaps!

As a huge Tolkien fan, I couldn't resist using the name of Gimli's cousin in this chapter. In the LoTR books, Gimli says that Balin is always extending hospitality to friends and kin, so I thought he would make a good innkeeper!

Anyway, sorry this took a little longer, it's been a trying week and it took a while to get anything coherent out of me.

Please read and review!! Thanks EragonPeep, SnowChika, Spottedstar106 and YoMuM for your great reviews! They're really helping me keep my spirits up! Se onr sverdar sitja hvass!! (May your swords stay sharp!!)


	5. Chapter 5

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 5

Onika yawned and opened her eyes when she heard the door click quietly shut. Carefully sniffing the air, she sorted through the scents she already knew and tried to figure out the ones she did not. It was prudent to know what one's den smelled like, after all. What if there were to be an intruder waiting for them when they returned from the day's outings?

:Leader Male?:

"Mmrfg? Whahaapen? What?"

Onika chuckled and sat up, looking down at Murtagh as the man's arm dropped into her lap. The dark haired Rider groaned and rubbed his eyes before rolling off the bed and stretching.

"Do you feel better?"

Onika nodded and smiled at him, standing and bending backwards until her fingertips touched the wooden floor. When she straightened up again, she saw that Murtagh had laid back down and went right back to sleep.

Actually, Onika felt much better than she had when they had arrived. She felt positively like a pup again, although her stomach still seemed to be reluctant to settle. She walked over to the low table and picked up the teacup and sniffed it carefully. Ginger, chamomile, lemon and rosehip. Hm. She lifted the cup to her lips and took a slow sip. Almost immediately her churning stomach began to slow it's pace, and after draining the whole cup, had almost entirely quieted.

She turned slowly back to where Murtagh was sleeping, an evil grin spreading over her face as she edged closer. She stood silently and watched him for a moment while she waited for an opportune moment. Murtagh yawned and flung an arm over his head and snorted in his sleep, and Onika sprang into the air and landed hard on the sleeping Rider. He wheezed as she quickly got off and sat on the mattress looking at him.

"What was that for?!"

:Leader Male need to wake up. Should I go wake Pack Male?:

:Yes.: "Can I watch?"

:Of course. Follow me.:

She and Murtagh wandered out into the hall and stood for a moment while she got her bearings and she found Eragon's scent. Finally she nodded and began walking down the hall, motioning for the dark haired man to follow her as she sniffed carefully at the air. When they arrived at the door that she identified as Eragon's, they ran into the tiniest of snags. The door was locked, and the only magic that Onika commanded was the wild magic of her people, which was not appropriate for use in the city. Murtagh quickly remedied the situation and muttered a spell under his breath and the door swung open silently. They slipped in and shut the door, Onika walking to the edge of the bed and stooping to a near crouching position with her eyes trained on Eragon.

Suddenly she leapt into the air and landed on the younger Rider, drawing a yelp from him as she growled playfully and poked him in the belly.

"Eeh?! Onika, get off!"

The Wolfborn cackled and tackled him again, then yelped when Murtagh slammed into them, sending all three to the hard wooden floor. The three struggled to get up, each finding their legs tangled in the blanket and Onika finding that both men had pinned her hair under their elbows.

"What's going on in there? Everything alright?"

Balin cracked the door and listened as the two men explained that Onika had grown impatient with waiting for the men to wake up, and had taken things into her own hands, then had extended the wake-up call to her 'brother-in-law'. The old dwarf laughed and shook his head, then asked if Onika was feeling better.

"She's feeling much better, thank you Balin."

"There's a message for you and Eragon from Nasuada downstairs. You can pick it up when you come down."

"Thank you Balin. We'll be down soon."

The three finally stood and brushed themselves off, still smiling as they left the room. Murtagh sent Eragon to get the message for them and stood near the door with Onika, keeping an eye of the woman to make sure she didn't get sick again from the smells of the city.

Eragon unfolded a small piece of paper, first breaking a plain grey seal with a small bird on it. As he walked to his fellow Riders, he read.

'_Eragon Shadeslayer and Murtagh Argetlam,_

_Please come to the Varden's palace quarters tonight toward sundown. I will alert our guards that you will be coming. Please bring your dragons, as they need to hear what I have to see as well, and I would like to hear what wisdom they may impart on our plans for the defense of Farthen Dur. My best to you both._

_Nasuada_'

Eragon relayed the news to the others, who sighed. Murtagh didn't like most of the Varden because of the fact that even after his multiple efforts, they did not trust him. However, he did want to see Nasuada again. It had been a long time since he had seen the leader of the Varden, and he was fond of her. Onika chewed her lip with worry, but she wasn't sure why she was nervous. As the three walked, she tried to sign a question to the others asking what Nasuada was like.

Eragon was the one who caught on first, much to Murtagh's chagrin.

"She's about your height, with dark skin and hair. She's very smart and she's strong. Other than that though, there really isn't that much to say."

Murtagh snorted.

"You only don't see it because you're too busy mooning over your elfwoman. She's beautiful. She's a good leader and she has kept the Varden out of a lot of trouble and has kept up relations with the dwarves, elves, and the people that are against Galbatorix. She's amazing."

When she heard this praise, Onika felt a growl start low in her chest. Through her sheer willpower she was able to keep it down, but Eragon noticed the Wolfborn's sudden turn of moods. She had left the inn smiling happily, holding Murtagh's hand and playfully swatting at Eragon's shoulders. Now her smile was strained and she kept pulling her hand away from Murtagh's, drawing a confused look from the dark Rider.

At one of the herbalist's stores, while a blushing Onika was being plied with tea and being taught what herbs are good for fertility by the mistress of the store while the old woman's toothless husband collected a small bag of candies for the 'pretty little darling', Murtagh pulled his younger brother aside.

"What's wrong with Onika? She's acting funny… Does she look like she's getting sick again?"

Eragon looked to the newest Rider as the woman popped a piece of the striped candy into her mouth and accepted a bag of free herbs that the old shopkeeper pressed into her hands with a wink.

"I think maybe she's just worried about meeting the Varden and more to the point, Nasuada. They aren't 'pack' after all. Saphira says that she read in one of Oromis' old scrolls that Wolfborn function in groups similar to a wolf pack. Maybe she's worried that her birth will make things difficult for her."

Murtagh thought on it, then nodded.

"Yeah, I bet that's it. We'll talk to her about it more when we go back for our dragon's. Or maybe they should just fly here. Saphira has gotten really attached to Onika's dragon, so we know she won't let anything bad happen to it. Hell, she won't even let Thorn get close to the little terror sometimes. I swear she thinks the little guy is hers…"

Eragon chuckled as Onika walked toward them, the old couple refusing any payment and extracting a promise that they would visit when they had their first baby. Both Murtagh and Onika turned dark red and Eragon laughed loudly and pushed them out the door, reminding them that there were still more supplies to be purchaced. Healing herbs and food procured, they moved on to buying clothes.

Murtagh bought more traveling clothes mostly in his customary blacks and greys, but he bought a green vest at Onika's behest. Eragon grabbed his usual clothes and a new belt for himself. Onika tried to buy things like the two men had gotten, but hadn't gotten farther than two pairs of breeches and a new shirt when Eragon 'let it slip' to the three tailors that the two had just recently been married. So, not only were their clothes bought at an extreme discount, but Onika was also gifted with three silk sleeping robes, a pretty olive green dress that reached her ankles and two new pairs of stockings, also made of silk.

"It's getting late, and we need to be going if we're going to go to Nasuada. We'll drop these off and then be off. I'll tell Saphira to bring… you know, that dragon needs a name."

They were walking up the stairs to their rooms when Eragon brought up the subject of a name for Onika's dragon. In the room where Murtagh and Onika were going to be sleeping, Onika was finally able to speak and Murtagh would translate for his younger brother.

:What should I name her? We don't have names in my language…:

"Hm. I don't know. Saphira is named after my first teacher's dragon. Thorn is… Thorn…"

Murtagh rolled his eyes and waited for Onika to reply.

:What about if I named my dragon after somebody important to us? Or to me?:

"That would be good."

:My Father Male's father had a name with the nomads of the desert. They called him… Bull Chaser. But that isn't a good name for a dragon…:

She looked down at the floor and tipped her head. Eragon cleared his throat carefully.

"Is your dragon male or female?"

:Female.:

Eragon thought for a long moment before he remembered the beautiful golden lilies that grew in Arya's mother's garden. The shape of the golden dragon's facial frills had reminded him of the blooms that were said to bring peace to the soul.

"What about Lily?:

Murtagh snorted.

"Lily? You're kidding right? What about Galaen?"

Onika tipped her head again and smiled slightly.

:I like them both. I will think on them both.:

They walked in silence to King Orin's palace, each thinking very different thoughts as they went. Eragon and Murtagh wanted to get there and get the information that would hopefully help them out in the fight for Farthen Dur. Onika felt a gnawing pain on her stomach that she was sure was a combination of fear and anger.

_I'm being stupid. It isn't like he is my Mate, so why on earth are you mate-guarding?! Snap out of it!! He might even be her Mate! Urgh…_

She shook her head and pushed her hair back with an irritated sigh. No, she would meet this 'Nasuada' and see if she was even remotely worthy of being a part of this pack. If either Murtagh or Eragon tried to stop her, they were in for a rude surprise.

………….

Nasuada looked up as the Riders were shown in. She smiled her most charming smile and took a step toward Murtagh as the dark haired man walked into the room with his younger brother.

_He's still the handsome Murtagh who left. Eh?_

Her attention was pulled away by the appearance of a tawny haired woman with strange ears in wild clothes. Without blinking, the newcomer lowered her head slightly and the room was filled with a low growl, Murtagh gave a bark and the woman backed down, but not before Nasuada saw the challenge in her eyes.

"What is this, some dog you picked up on the way?"

Eragon narrowed his eyes and Murtagh replied in a low growling voice.

"This is Onika, the Wolfborn Rider."


	6. Chapter 6

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

**Chapter 6**

Nasuada looked Onika up and down, her once winning smile turning quickly to a smirk as she took in the Rider's torn clothes and tangled hair. Her eyes were cruel as she held out a hand and gestured to the woman, whose yellow eyes never left the dark appendage.

"This? This is the third Rider we were so hoping for? A growling _dog_?!"

Onika's cheeks burned bright red as she continued to growl and lift her lip to reveal her sharp teeth. Eragon stood silently, glaring at the woman he had sworn his service to. The Rider looked to Murtagh and found that the dark haired man was not looking at Nasuada at all, but at Onika.

Onika watched as the hand got closer to her as she listened to the barrage of insults that obviously Nasuada thought that she could not understand. Apparently she had no fear of the Wolfborn or respect for the Desert Tribe. As she heard more of what the leader of the Varden thought of her intelligence, or lack thereof in Nasuada's opinion, Onika wondered if she would be forgiven by her pack if she acted on her basest of instincts and bit off one or two of the irritating fingers.

_Who cares? If I am driven out of the pack, then I will pray to First Father and First Mother to guide me to another tribe of my own people. It will be better than living in silence and treated like I should be ashamed of what I am. I should have listened to you Father Male father. I should have just stayed with my own kind…_

With one last warning snarl, she snapped at the hand.

"Onika!"

"Onika, no!"

There was a shriek from Nasuada and a bark from Murtagh. What reached Onika's ears though, was Eragon's grunt of pain as her teeth sank deep into his forearm. Bright blood welled up and ran down her chin and she pulled bach and stared in shock at the damage she had done.

:Oh! I am so sorry! Oh my poor brother, look at your arm! Your poor arm! Forgive me! Forgive me!:

She went on like this for almost two full minutes while Nasuada shouted for her to be taken away and locked up. Onika looked at the guards and went with them easily, lifting her head only once to let out a tiny howl. Another apology and a promise of repentance, as Murtagh could understand.

Nasuada watched as Eragon healed himself and looked out of the window in time to see Thorn and Saphira land, the smaller golden dragon nipping playfully at their chins. When Murtagh saw the littler creature's actions, he felt Thorn's amusement. Saphira put her thick snout under the little female and sent her spinning once before turning to face the open window. Suddenly, the little dragon cried out and started to shake and look around franticly.

It was Thorn who spoke first.

_What have you done with her Rider?! She is terrified that they will have to leave us! What have you done?!_

Murtagh looked to Eragon who was watching his dragon with a carefully guarded expression. The dark haired Rider felt guilt as Nasuada smoothed her skirt and looked at the two of them, her eyes going from shock and anger to their warm calm.

"What will happen to the Rider? To Onika."

Murtagh's voice was quiet as he spoke, careful not to meet the Varden's leader's eyes, for fear that he would go soft again.

"She is just going to sit in the cell for a while until she cools down. I'll fill you in while we wait."

"No."

Nasuada looked at Eragon as he walked to the door that would lead him out to the dragons. He looked back at his older brother and shook his head, sighing.

"I'll be trying to calm Onika. You can stay here if you want to, Murtagh, but you should do the same thing. She needs us now, and I think that Lady Nasuada may need some time to recover from her shock."

With this scathing remark, he left and shut the door behind him. Murtagh and Nasuada stood in silence for a moment, and the leader of the Varden thought that her favorite Rider was going to stay with her.

"I can't believe that barking maniac tried to bite me."

Murtagh glared at her for a moment, then shook his head and turned away and walked to the door.

"Wait. Stay here with me."

He stopped and turned again and shook his head.

"No Lady. I'll be going to Onika now. I will see you later."

And he left Nasuada alone, for the first time since he had joined their fight against the evil mad king.

…………………….

Onika sat in a corner of her cell, the cold walls comforting and rough. She twisted a lock of hair around one finger and closed her eyes. She could hear her dragon screaming like a child afraid of being away from it's parents in her head, and tears ran down her face. For the first time, she addressed her dragon by the name that she had chosen for her. It meant 'Flower Baby' in her language. Her mother had called her that before her death at the hands of the Shade.

_Hush now, little Mishee. I'm still here. Calm down and stay with Saphira and Thorn. We may be leaving without them. Calm down, my pretty little Mishee. All will be well._

Even to her the last words sounded forced. She was trying to convince her dragon that she was confident, but she felt that she was also trying to convince herself…


	7. Chapter 7

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 7

Arya looked up to see Eragon walking past her without a glance her way, his shoulders tense.

"Eragon?"

The younger Rider jumped and turned to face the elf princess. His face relaxed slightly, but she noticed that his anxiety hadn't left him completely at all. She motioned for him to keep walking and kept pace with him. She raised her eyebrows when she saw his bloody sleeve, blood dripping off his fingertips to the stone floor.

"Why are you going to the prison? What happened to your arm?"

Eragon sighed and explained the situation as quickly as he could as they walked, already his sharp ears picking up the low howls that he knew came from Onika as she sat in her cell. The guards put up a token resistance to their demands to be allowed into the cell with the 'wild girl'. Finally they unlocked the door and let Eragon pass. He spoke quickly to the girl in the cell, putting only his head past the door.

"Onika, is it alright if Arya comes in too?"

Arya heard a low whuffing sound and Eragon gave her a small nod before going in. Arya followed, pushing her long dark hair behind her shoulders. To her surprise, the girl in the cell was as beautiful as an elf, but far more wild than any elf or human could hope to be. Then, she felt a touch on her mind that felt sad and afraid.

_'Did Murtagh stay with the dark skinned one? Will you ask Eragon for me?'_

Arya relayed the message and the younger Rider shrugged his shoulders.

"He was still there when I left. He may have left, he may not have."

The girl crept toward Eragon after he had sat down on her hands and knees, making a small whining noise. Eragon smiled and held out his arm to her and let her sniff the wound she had inflicted on him.

……………………….

Onika sniffed at the blood soaked sleeve, forgetting that the elf was in the room as more guilt washed over her. It was a terrible sin amongst her people to attack members of their pack. The Wolfborn were born fighters and were a warlike people, but to attack family was worse than running away from battle.

She scooted closer to Eragon and pushed back his sleeve and carefully licked the wound, ignoring the look of disgust that both the elf and Eragon let pass over their faces. She knew that if she didn't clean the wound, there would be no forgiveness from him. At least, that was how she understood things. Now if only she had water to finish the ritual. Oh well.

_'Tell him that I am sorry. I want to repent as best I can as soon as I am free.'_

Arya spoke her word and Eragon shook his head.

"You didn't mean to, Onika. There is nothing to forgive."

Onika sighed and nudged his shoulder with her forehead, to show that she was still feeling guilty and, while pleased that he was not angry with her, that she would try to fix it somehow. All three looked up when the door opened and Murtagh walked in, his face unreadable. Onika was confused by the odd mix of scents coming from him. Anger, relief, confusion, fear… It made her head spin.

"Arya, could you please leave us?"

The elf looked at the trio and stood, nodding.

"I will come to see you later, Wolf-sister."

Onika nodded, but didn't look away from Murtagh.

:I'll leave. Once they let me out I will leave. It's what you're here to say, right? That I have to leave?:

Murtagh looked down and heaved a sigh. Then he looked up and took her face in his hands and smiled, Eragon momentarily forgotten.

:No. You go, I go too.:


	8. Chapter 8

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 8

Eragon smiled and put his hands in his pockets, looking around the small cell. He had knew that Onika was fascinated with Murtagh, but only just began to see that Murtagh was starting to see more in Onika than just another Rider. Eragon was a little worried about his brother and his pack sister. What would happen if something were to happen between them and it went horribly wrong? They would still have to be together, even if they ended badly…

When he cleared his throat quietly and Onika jumped, looking around Murtagh to her pack brother and blushed slightly. Eragon smiled and silently cast a healing spell on his arm, watching as Murtagh turned slightly red and turned away from the Wolfborn, scratching his head.

"So, I'll tell them to let her out, and erm…"

Eragon nodded as Murtagh slipped out of the room, cursing as his sleeve caught on a corner and tore. Onika chuckled and Eragon smirked and put a hand on Onika's shoulder and followed his brother out of the cell with the Wolfborn close behind.

"She can be let out. Lady Nasuada will want to talk to her later anyway. Until then, we are going to the training fields. Eragon, you go get Arya and some training equipment. We'll meet you there."

Eragon nodded and jogged away as Murtagh took Onika's hand and led her down another corridor. Onika's dragon was still nervous and was talking nonstop to the two older dragons, as Thorn told Murtagh in feux-irritation. Murtagh chuckled and told Onika of Thorn's complaint and the two laughed as they came out into a huge grassy plane.

:This is the training ground?:

Murtagh nodded, but Onika wasn't looking at him at all, but her eyes were trained several feet to their right. He looked the same direction and saw that Arya and Eragon had brought a few bows and practice arrows, swords, staves and spears. Onika barked a greeting and ran to them. Arya smiled and called out to Murtagh.

"We brought all this because we don't know what Onika is proficient with. Would you like to start against me, Wolf Sister?"

Onika nodded and looked to the other two Riders, smiling.

:Tell her please that I will use my knives first. She can use any of the weapons for herself. We can start when she is ready.:

With that, she stretched her arms and legs out, while Arya did the same as Murtagh told her what Onika had said. The elf woman nodded and looked the different weapons over, finally settling on a long sword. Onika bowed to Arya after the elf bowed to her.

At first, Murtagh was a little confused. Onika had not drawn her weapons even though she dashed toward the elf, her eyes locked on the elf's chest, looking for a sign of what move she was going to make next. Finally, Arya dashed forward, blade flashing and spinning. Onika's knives hissed from their sheaths and crossed under Arya's sword, sending sparks into the air.

Slashing and dancing back and forth, the two women circled and attacked, feinted and parried. Eragon and Murtagh watched in amazement as the women moved faster and faster. Then, without warning, Onika brought one of her knives up under Arya's weapon and jerked it toward her and spun out of the way as the elf was tossed through the air. When the elf hit her knees, Onika jumped on her back and positioned both of her knives so one was to the downed elf's throat and the other's point near her belly. Arya froze and Onika got up, her face shining with sweat.

:That…was the hardest I have had to fight in a long time… She's tired me out… I'll need to catch my breath before we continue…:

Arya listened as Murtagh repeated Onika's message and smiled, sitting down in the grass beside the Wolfborn. She looked at the tawny haired woman and chewed her lip for a moment before tapping her arm. When Onika opened her eyes and looked over at her, Arya found it hard to look into her amber eyes.

"I have heard that the wild form of the Wolfborn are more beautiful than even the most glorious wolves of the wild. May I… Will you show me your wild form?"

Onika tipped her head, looking thoughtful. After a long moment that Eragon and Murtagh knew was only there to tease them, she nodded. Arya sat up straighter and watched as the Wolfborn stood and walked away a few feet. She smiled one last time and waved, then shut her eyes.

Arya gasped as Onika's skin sprouted long tawny fur and the woman's bones reformed and realigned, her knees twisting backwards and her face elongating. It was the sudden growth that threw Arya off. Once Onika was fully transformed to a tawny wolf the size of Mishee, the Wolfborn sat on her haunches and stared at her fellow Riders and the elf woman.

In their minds, a low growling female voice chuckled.

_Well, and what do you think, lady elf?_

Arya stood and walked over to the giant wolf and reverently placed a hand on Onika's side, smiling at the feel of the thick fur under her fingers. Then Onika laid down on her belly and gave a wolf's smile to the elf, glancing over at her fellow Riders before speaking.

_Get on my back, elf sister. I will show you the speed and power of the Wolfborn._

"Are you sure?"

Onika gave a coughing bark, a laugh in her current form, and nodded her great head.

Arya climbed up hesitantly, holding thick handfuls of fur and digging in with her knees. She was about to ask what to do when Onika got to her feet and began to run, occasionally leaping into the air and gaining speed. With a mental whoop, Onika leapt over the high wall and Eragon and Murtagh heard Arya let out a high pitched shriek as they sailed through the air.

The brothers laughed and ran toward the wall and went through the door to see Onika, still in her wild form, standing over a prone Arya. Eragon ran over and touched Arya's face, worried. When Murtagh got there, she opened her eyes and grinned up at the three.

"Again… Can we do it again?!"

Murtagh snorted and Eragon started to laugh, Onika's wolf laugh sounding above them. Eragon spoke first.

"We thought she was killing you, from all that screaming."

Arya laughed and sat up, her eyes on Onika.

"The stories were right. The Wolfborn are the most beautiful of the wild people…"

Onika laughed again and her form melted back to the elfin looking woman that most people knew. She smiled and held out a hand to the elf as she tried to stand.

:My people and elves usually got along in the past. We will see that that tradition of friendship continues.:


	9. Chapter 9

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 9

Onika sat alone in the room that she shared with Murtagh, chewing on a piece of jerky that she had found in one of his packs. She had been fed little more than steamed vegetables and bread by Balin's wife, who was told that she was an elf. She had eaten as much as she could out of respect for the dwarf woman, but had soon retreated to the rom complaining of a headache.

As she stood, she winced and put a hand to her back. More than once, her sparring partners had struck her in the kidney and she was really starting to feel it full force. She thought about asking Murtagh or Eragon to heal that wound for her, but her pride stomped on that idea. No, it was better to tough it out and be seen as strong.

She groaned again and walked to the full length mirror, picking up the olive green dress that the tailor had given her earlier. Really, she should try it on at least once…

With a quick nod to her reflection, she peeled off her clothes and looked at herself critically. Her body was decorated with the scars of many battles and punishments, along with a few wildly spiraling tattoos that were supposed to eventually cover her whole body. As of right now, they were only on her belly and back. She would find the necessary tools and continue the ritual that had been cut short, but not tonight.

She turned to examine her back in the mirror and saw that the areas around her kidneys and between her shoulders were badly bruised, and so was her left hip. She touched one of the bruises and winced again, the dress hanging in her other hand.

Suddenly the door opened and Eragon and his brother walked in. For a moment both men looked at her, stunned at their poor timing, and she tipped her head to one side.

:Leader Male forget something? Pack Male, where are you going?:

Eragon closed the door and walked to the corner, his eyes glued to the wall. Murtagh saw this and dragged his eyes away from the Wolfborn, his face burning, to do the same.

:What's wrong? Oh…:

She hastily pulled on the dress and tied it securely before going over and tapping them on the shoulders.

:I'm sorry. With my people, clothes were usually a luxury. I didn't mean to embarrass either of you.:

"It's okay. No harm done."

Eragon looked to his brother and rolled his eyes. The dark haired Rider's mouth still hung open slightly, making Onika chuckle. He sighed and snapped his brother's jaws closed.

"You'll catch flies."

Murtagh shook his head violently and his eyes cleared a bit.

"We were just coming to check on you. But you're okay, so we'll go."

He shoved Eragon out and shut the door, turning back to Onika after a moment.

"Do you want one of us to heal you? Those bruises look bad."

:No.:

"Okay… well…"

When he turned to leave, he heard a rough low female voice from behind him.

"Murtagh."

He halted mid-step and turned to look at the female Rider, a look of confusion on his face.

"Did…Did you just-?"

"Murtagh. You…are…Murtagh. I…am…Onika."

Her words were slow and careful. He blinked wildly and looked into her eyes as she smiled at him.

"How are you doing that? How can you speak our language?"

With a sly smile, she raised an eyebrow and flicked a strand of hair out of his face and closed his mouth more gently than his brother had.

"I…listened."

A/N

Yeah, I know this was short and crappy, but it is all I have right now. Your author has been going to the doctor a lot recently because she has discovered that she is pregnant! Holy cheese! No worries though, I will continue to write and stuff!

I have a question for any guys that may be reading this… What goes through the male mind when it hits him that he has feelings not for the dark skinned leader of the Varden, but rather for the Wolfborn that is sleeping in the same bed as you for the sake of a cover story? I just need help for this as I am most definitely NOT male…

Thank you for all of your great reviews!! I love them!!

Onr sverdar sitja hvass!!


	10. Chapter 10

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 10

Murtagh sat with Eragon and Onika in the room that Nasuada used to brief her commanders, his hands clasped in his lap to keep them still. He had been on edge for the whole night before after the leader of the Varden had sent the three notice that she would speak with them the next morning.

:Stop worrying Leader Male, it is making me nervous. I will behave today, so long as the dark female does.:

He nodded to his companion and glanced up when he heard the heavy door to their left open and Nasuada floated in. The dark skinned woman wore a shimmery blue silk gown today with short tiers of material from her waist until the skirt touched her feet. The long sleeves ended with deep falls of lace that drew the eyes to her long shapely hands. Her dark eyes flitted over the Riders, then settled of Murtagh.

"Alright. Yesterday didn't go quite the way any of us intended, but things have been explained and I think that you all can handle being in the same room."

Her eyes flicked to Onika and the Wolfborn rolled her eyes, but kept silent. There was a time and place for sass, and this was not it… The woman's right hand twisted the lace that ended her sleeve, a steely chill coming over her dark eyes as the Wolfborn looked to Murtagh and reached over and plucked something off the dark haired Rider's sleeve, earning her a tiny smile and nod.

"Lady Nasuada, the happenings of Farthen Dur?"

Eragon's words seemed to pull Nasuada out of her thoughts and her hand stopped it's agitated twisting, but her eyes did not warm.

"Yes, Farthen Dur. We have received reports from your dwarven foster brother Orik that there are Urgals attacking. The problem is that there is a strange beast that has been attacking people there. The creature is like nothing that the dwarves have ever seen before. You will be leaving tomorrow, I assume?"

:Is that all she can tell us?:

Murtagh looked at Onika, who was watching Nasuada intently, her amber eyes never leaving the woman as she paced back and forth in front of them. The woman looked over at the Wolfborn as the tawny haired woman stood.

:Why Pack Female not talk? Talked before.:

:Just ask her, Leader Male.:

Murtagh looked back at Nasuada and repeated Onika's question. Nasuada nodded, closing her eyes slightly. Figuring that the dark haired man had just translated the information she had given for the Wolfborn, she spoke in clipped tones to him.

"Please tell her that this is all that I can offer. Otherwise you will have to talk to Orik."

Onika's eyes betrayed nothing, but Eragon saw her jaw tighten and knew that she would no doubt like to turn into her wild form and scare the wits out of Nasuada, if not bite her face off… Murtagh narrowed his eyes at the insult.

"Onika understands everything that is said. Her people are linguists. She can't speak our language, but she understands perfectly."

Nasuada raised her eyebrow and looked at the Wolfborn.

"Well, that _is_ interesting. We will have to chat when you return."

Onika nodded once and left, telling her packmates that she was going to the dragons to ready them.

Eragon smiled and stood, bowing to Nasuada.

"I do believe that we will leave now. It will be better if we leave quickly. Until we meet again, my lady."

He left the room, turning toward the inn that they had been staying at. He would pack as much as they would need, then ask Balin and his wife to watch the rest of their things and keep the rooms for them. Then he would tell Arya that they were leaving before meeting his fellow Riders.

Murtagh sat in silence for a long moment before standing to leave, not even saying farewell to Nasuada as he closed the door.

As he walked, he reached for Thorn's mind.

_You and Saphira have been training Mishee for battle?_

_Of course. She is quite adept at flying under her opponent's guard and striking. She is doing very well for her size._

_She isn't so small anymore._

_She is only half Saphira's size._

_Still._

_We are leaving then?_

_Yes. As soon as Eragon gets there. Arya may be coming with us. You said that the elf purchased a saddle for the little dragon?_

Thorn snorted in amusement and sent an image of the smaller dragon strutting around, her golden scales gleaming and sending motes of light onto a new leather saddle that was bound to her back.

_Cute. Will you and Saphira be ready?_

_We already are. The wolf girl is with us. We wait for you._

Without another word, Thorn severed the communication and Murtagh took off down the hall, a smile spreading over his face. Finally, he would be out of this city, and Onika would be free to talk as much as she liked and he and Eragon could continue to learn to speak and, in his brother's case understand, her language.

He slowed when he approached the door that would release into the training grounds that they would be leaving from. When he opened it, he saw that Eragon and Arya were waiting for him, the elf securing a pack to Mishee's saddle. The Wolfborn smiled and closed her eyes and let her Tame form melt into her wolf body.

_I will travel this way for a while. Arya can ride Mishee until we get far enough away. I will stay hidden in the woods until we are away from the paths and then I will ride Mishee and Arya will ride with Eragon. When Mishee gets tired…_

Her voice trailed off and she looked at the dragon. She wasn't sure what she would do, but Murtagh could tell that she was trying to decide if she could try to carry the golden creature.

Eragon swung himself up onto Saphira as Murtagh mounted his own dragon and Arya eased up onto Mishee. In silence the group left, in hopes that they would have a celebration on their return.


	11. Chapter 11

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 11

They managed to travel until dark without stopping for more than a moment to let Arya off of Mishee so she could clamber up onto Onika's back. Arya noticed that as she ran, the Wolfborn did not speak to the other members of the party. Once they stopped for the night, the elf slipped off the giant panting wolf's back, watching as the fur melted into skin and her body shrunk to her Tame size.

The Wolfborn worked silently, removing Mishee's saddle and arranging her things so that they could stay clean and be packed quickly. The others noted her silence, but passed it off to fatigue. The woman had been running all day after all, they understood if she didn't really feel like talking.

"Onika?"

Murtagh had looked up from the cookfire and noticed that the Wolfborn had vanished. Swearing, he rose to his feet and his two companions did the same.

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know. She didn't make a sound…"

"I can try to go and find her. Elves don't get lost."

The two men agreed and Arya set off in the direction that she had last seen Onika. It wasn't long before she saw the familiar bright hair peeking over the top of a pile of brush. The elf cleared her throat and jumped when she heard a familiar voice.

"I hear…you. Why are you…here? You followed?"

"When did you learn to speak?"

She eased closer to Onika and found the woman sitting on the edge of a rivine, looking down at a rushing river below.

"Not long. I have…listened. I have learned."

Arya marveled at the sound of the Wolfborn's voice. It was low and husky, a hint of a growl always lurking at the back of her throat. It was soothing to hear even as it set her hair on end.

"What are you doing here? We were worried."

Onika looked to her left and pointed to a fallen log that had been cut into with a blade until a symbol was etched into it's surface. Three circles stacked into a triangle with thorny vines weaving through them.

"What is it?"

"My brother…my family. We pass my…home."

"Why didn't you say something?"

Onika shook her head as the elf sat down beside her, letting her feet hang over the rocky edge as Onika was.

"I hear…they speak to me…They want."

"What do they want?"

"Me. They say other brother is…wandering. Not dead. He was here. Finding him…so we can free…our family."

Onika's voice had been heavy with sadness when she spoke of her dead family and brother, but when the topic turned to her living sibling, her voice was full of burning hatred and venom. Arya wondered what the other Wolfborn could have done to bring such hate from a sister who obviously suffered due to the annihilation of her pack. The elf was going to ask what he had done when a metallic smell hit her nose.

Arya sniffed and looked down at Onika's lap and saw that her hands were dark with blood that came from deep gashes on her arms. Her eyebrows shot up and the Wolfborn chewed her lip. There was something she was not telling her, Arya could tell, but did not press her.

"I tried to…spell brother. Our magic is…"

"Blood magic. I read it somewhere."

"Blood magic."

Arya sighed and rubbed her neck and stood, holding out a hand to her only actual friend.

"Come on. We need to rest before we set off in the morning. Besides, Eragon and Murtagh are probably worried sick. We've been gone for more than an hour."

Onika nodded and stood, taking the hand Arya offered before thinking to wipe the blood from her own. They looked at their joined hands for a moment, then smiled and began to walk.

"You know, Onika… you can trust us."

"I know… I do."

"Good."

With a sigh, Onika allowed Arya to lead her back to the camp. She was surprised when Murtagh got directly in her face and snarled, showing his teeth. Instinctively, Onika lowered her head and whined softly. Arya tipped her head and watched as the Wolfborn licked his chin and nudged his jaw with her nose. Eragon stood and led her a few steps away before whispering an explination.

"He just told her he was pissed off that she left. She's apologizing as hard as she can without offering up her belly. See the way she's tipping her head to show her throat? That means that she isn't going to fight him on the subject, and he may punish her if he thinks she deserves it."

"How do you know?"

"She explained a lot of it. And Murtagh told me he was going to tell her off when she joined us. Where was she?"

"Near a grave."

Eragon looked at Onika, who was sitting near Murtagh, and smirked for a moment when he saw his older brother's arm over her shoulders as she spoke in her harsh language. Then a thought seemed to come to him and he looked Arya full in the face.

"A grave?"

"Yes. She said it was her brother's."

"Did she say anything else?"

"Yes. Her other brother was here reciently. I don't know if it is good or bad, but the mention of him seemed to make her angry."

"Hm. I'll talk to her. But for now, let's get some rest."

They rose and went to their respective bedrolls and closed their eyes, listening to Murtagh and Onika's quiet growls and barks.

The Wolfborn looked at Murtagh as he spread out his bedroll and got in, her eyes catching the light of the fire. Mishee snored quietly between Saphira and Thorn, who both were keeping watch. Onika rose and curled up first near her elf friend, then got up again with a sigh.

:Pack Female.: "Can't sleep?"

:Pack Female can't get comfortable. Beds are softer and don't have sticks.:

Murtagh chuckled and held the blankets of his bedroll open with a slight smile.

"Eragon didn't pack your bedroll, go figure. You can sleep with me tonight and then steal his blankets tomorrow and make him fend for himself."

Onika snorted and crept under the covers, yawning. Curling up with her back to Murtagh, she scooted back until she felt her back touch him, then rolled over. She uncurled her legs and pressed up as close as she could without pushing him out of his bedroll, burying her nose in the hollow of his neck, she yawned again and fell asleep.

Murtagh sighed and smiled, putting an arm over her as he had at the inn. Maybe he wouldn't let her steal Eragon's bedroll after all. He liked her just where she was.

A/N

Aww, ain't it sweet?! retches into a bucket I can't believe I wrote that sugary mess… ah well. Comments, suggestions or criticisms? All comments are treated as donations to the Cookies for Murtagh and Eragon Fund. Please, help a hungry Rider. laughs Seriously though, I love your reviews, so please write them.

(And in case anybody was wondering, I am due around January!!)


	12. Chapter 12

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 12

Onika opened her eyes to see the sky was a silver grey. The sun hadn't risen yet, but Arya was and Eragon was nowhere to be seen. The female elf was gathering the things for breakfast. She turned when she heard the Wolfborn getting to her feet.

"Why…up?"

"Elves don't sleep like other people. We just don't have to. If you need more rest, go back to sleep. We'll wake you when it is time."

Onika shook her head and looked to Mishee, who lay with her head resting on Saphira's right foreleg and her tail touching Thorn's side. The Wolfborn smiled. The young dragon had chosen the two to be her parents, and the two didn't seem to mind at all.

"I'm going to…pray? Pray."

Eragon tipped his head and looked at the Wolfborn, looking like he was fighting not to laugh. He had never heard of Onika praying before, and with how she sometimes acted it was downright laughable. Especially when she had just woken up.

To prove his point, Onika scowled and flung a shoe at the chuckling man and turning to walk into the woods, smiling when she heard a thud followed by a muffled curse.

Before the man could catch up to her, she shifted into her wolf form and bounded through the familiar forest. She slowed as she neared the ravine that she had visited last night, carefully sniffing the air.

_I wonder if the spirits are still here. After all the bloodshed, it wouldn't surprise me if the little things took off…_

She gave a friendly bark and shifted back into her Tame form, her eyes scanning the shadows around her. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw a tiny pale shape, like a misshapen human with an oversized lumpy head on a thin little body. When it noticed that she was watching it, the creature took off into the woods.

Onika sighed and sat down away from the edge of the ravine, deciding that if she was going to do the traditional prayers, she should be sitting. She had passed out during the prayers before, and she didn't want to go crashing to the bottom of the ravine where jagged rocks jutted out of the river.

Drawing a long needle and blade out of her sleeve, she looked around for the bottle of special ink she had made last night before Arya had come to find her. She set the knife down on her thigh and reached for the ink bottle and blinked when she pulled back her hand and saw that the little spirit had come out along with the bottle, seated on top of the cap.

_:You're here again? Where is your family little one? I thought you had all left.:_

The spirit shook it's head, making a rattling sound. She could understand their odd speech, even though she knew that none of the others would ever even see them probably.

:Your brother was here. Don't you smell him?:

:_Yes, little one, I do. But I need to do this first…placate my family.:_

The little spirit nodded and rattled again and arranged itself by one of her feet and held the bottle steady after she uncorked it. Dipping the needle into the ink, she used her other hand to remove her shirt and touch the twisting tattoo that she was adding to. The spirit kept watch as the Wolfborn closed her eyes and let her mind slide away. She was aware of her hand moving to trace a pattern with the inking needle, then the knife as it was used to fill in lines and curves. As she finished, she felt her mind slipping away again with a feeling of nausea.

_I wondered when that was coming…_

She uttered a low growl as her eyes rolled back in her head and she toppled over, blood running out from under her skin. The little spirit rattled sadly and set off a tiny explosion to warn her friends, it knew she was not alone, of her position.

Murtagh had just risen in some confusion when he heard the bang. All three of the people in the camp looked into the woods. Recognition dawned on Arya's face and the elf took off into the woods, Murtagh and Eragon hot on her heels.

"I think I know where she is. Come on, we're slower in the woods."

As they ran, Murtagh could swear he could hear a faint rattling sound, like many little bones being shaken together in a bowl. What could be making that noise? He decided that he would call for Onika as they ran, hoping that she would answer him.

_:Pack Female! Where Pack Female? Answer Leader Male!:_

When he heard nothing, he began to feel a little fear for his fellow Rider. He was still running when he heard Arya shout from a way ahead of him.

"She's bleeding!"

That's it. Goodbye calm calculation, hello panic-rat.

Murtagh put on a burst of speed and launched himself over fallen trees and came to a screeching halt to see Arya trying to get Onika's shirt on as the Wolfborn's pale face rolled off to one side, her hair falling over it.

"What…what happened?!"

"I don't know Murtagh, but she's fine. I think she passed out."

As if on cue, Onika's eyes opened a little and fixed on the elf.

_:They are still here… Little… Spirits…:_

Murtagh heard the rattle again and looked up into a tree to see seven little pale creatures. They all began to rattle at the same time and clamber down toward him. He yelped and fell over his feet, scrambling over the ground until he felt Onika's hand settle over his.

:_Friends.:_

_"_In your…language, they are… Kenbosi."

The Kenbosi rattled again and Eragon watched as one brought a sphere of water to Onika and splashed it onto her bare belly and chest. Onika yelped and wiped the water away with her hands. Eragon was engrossed with the Kenbosi and Arya was trying to coax a few more out of a bush.

"You scared me, Onika. Please…don't do that again."

_:It was the prayer, Leader Male. I had to add to the prayer…:_

He looked at her skin and saw that some of her skin was angry red under new twisting patterns.

"Where did you get ink?"

Onika smiled and mimed cutting her hands and he saw the slash marks on her hands and arms.

"When?"

_:Last night. Before I came back.:_

He shook his head and put his hands over the wounds and murmured the Ancient words of healing, feeling her skin knitting together. After that, he looked at the swollen tattooed skin and almost went to heal that too, but Onika stopped him. Pulling on her shirt, she pulled herself into a real sitting position and looked over as the Kenbosi all turned to look at her. They rattled at her and she nodded, holding up a hand to silence them.

_:They watched me. Don't worry so much.:_

_:Worried.:_

_:I know.:_

She smiled and rose to her feet, waiting for the others to stand. In her mind, she heard Mishee yammering happily to her 'parents' while they looked for food. She turned to tell Murtagh that the Kenbosi would follow them while they were in the woods when the dark haired man leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

"Ah…"

Murtagh kept walking, calling over his shoulder to the others as he walked.

"Well, I don't know about you three, but I'm hungry. We should be leaving soon, and we won't be stopping often, so we had better eat now."

He and Eragon walked ahead of the two women, talking quietly while the elf tried to gage the Wolfborn's reaction. At first, Onika followed mutely, but then blood rushed to her face. The Kenbosi crowded around her feet while one sat on her shoulder. The one on her shoulder crinkled it's brow and put a hand to her face as if it was worried she had a fever.

"Don't worry, little one" Arya said with a giggle "she's just…happy."

Onika crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at the elf, making her laugh and give her arm a gentle swat.

"You know I'm telling the truth."

"Don't…tell."

"I won't."


	13. Chapter 13

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 13

As they walked back toward the camp, Arya noticed that Onika's eyes darted to the right into the woods. When she turned her head the little the Kenbosi on her shoulder was knocked from it's perch on her shoulder and had to grab her hair to be saved from falling to the ground. At first Onika would tip her head to listen to something that the others couldn't hear, then continue to walk. Finally she froze and when Arya asked why, the Wolfborn held a hand up for silence.

:Danger. Pups…:

Suddenly the Kenbosi scattered away from the Wolfborn, racing for the cover of their trees and bushes. The elf barely had time to register that she had no idea what Onika had said before Murtagh gave a shout for the Wolfborn to stop and the woman had taken off into the woods.

Eragon looked to Murtagh as they all chased after the woman, sending a mental message to Saphira. It was simple, only three words: _Come to me._

Murtagh shouted over his shoulder that Onika had heard pups and that there was danger. Other than that he knew nothing.

Onika ran, and as she charged through the forest she did not change. The trees were too thick here, but they wouldn't be soon. Soon she would be right where the Shade had attacked, and that place had always had far fewer trees even before the evil creature's magic had destroyed everything. Her heart was racing and her breathing was ragged, and her mind was flickering back to the darkest day of her life so often that she didn't notice something very important. The Kenbosi that had fled were back, flying through the trees and rattling in their strange language at her. One bravely leapt out of it's tree and caught on to her hair and hung there as it rattled at her.

:Shut up!:

With a snarl, she shook her head and flung the spirit out of her hair. The little creature spun through the air and slammed into Murtagh's face, drawing a surprised yelp from the dark haired man. He reached up and peeled the little creature off his face and looked at it as he ran, the little thing shook it's oversized head, producing it's loud boney rattling.

"I don't understand you!"

The creature scowled at him and crossed it's arms, pointing the direction that the Wolfborn was running.

_I won't let it happen again! I won't let the pups die!_

Onika pushed herself harder, ignoring her screaming lungs and the blood that was leaking out of her mouth from her biting her tongue and overexertion. She was almost there, she could hear the pups crying still, a little girl and a boy. What were they doing this far away from home?!

She burst into the blasted clearing, a challenge rumbling in her chest. She came to a halt at the sight of two blood covered children that were clinging to each other, screaming. Her heart stopped and she felt tears in her eyes. She recognized these two children, they were her own cousins! She wasn't the only one who lived! She ran toward the pair, holding out her hands to scoop them up once she got close enough, growling and barking words of comfort. Suddenly, she froze. Taking a deep breath, she finally noticed what was missing that she hadn't been able to find before in her haste.

These children, pups from her old pack, had no scent.

She lunged toward the children who looked at her with eyes that showed relief to see her, and slammed into the hard ground behind them. She turned and stared at the children as rain began to fall. The two looked at her for a moment before wavering and vanishing like a mirage of the desert that she had begun her life in. Onika shrieked and clawed at the air where the two children had been, like she could drag them back from where they were.

Murtagh looked up to see the three dragons flying overhead and begin to land. He and his brother, followed one second later by Arya, came into the clearing to see that Onika was clawing at her face and keening. The dragons stood near her, Mishee laying on the ground making low groaning sounds. Saphira was holding her head beside the golden dragon's, her eyes looking first to the Wolfborn, then to her dragon.

Onika's eyes were glassy and empty of anything but sorrow, her hair hanging in wet ropes around her pale face and down her back. Arya and the others approached slowly, Murtagh leaning down further and further as he got closer, remembering what she said about not being threatening if you made yourself smaller. She looked up as they got to be about a foot away.

:They're still here…I could have protected them, and I didn't. I wasn't there when they needed me. It was my fault that the pups…the pups…:

Her words were cut off by a sob and she threw her head back and made sounds that Murtagh never knew could be made. Her cries and howls twisted his heart and lungs, and he wondered if somebody could die just listening to the sounds of a broken heart.

Then, to his surprise, Thorn took three ponderous steps and laid down beside the Wolfborn and stretched one ruby wing over her, shielding her from the cold rain.

_Are you three going to talk to her, or are you going to stand there like drooling idiots?_

The three walked under the wing, sitting down near Onika.

"What happened that day, Onika?"

Her empty eyes rested on Murtagh at the sound of his voice, her lip lifting in a slight snarl.

"My life…ended."

A/N

I'm sorry about the depressing chapter. The next one will be too, probably a lot worse. I can't write happy right now. I miscarried and so… it may be a while til I post again. I will try to write though, because it seems to help the pain.


	14. Chapter 14

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 14

Onika sat near Thorn's side, shivering and curling herself up as tightly as she could. She didn't look up at any of her companions as she began to speak. When she spoke, it was the clearest that she had ever spoken the common tongue, with few pauses to find correct words. As they listened to the Wolfborn, the two Riders and the elf wondered how long she had been carrying this shadow over her heart.

……………

_:Why do I have to watch them __again__?! Can't one of the other pack mates watch the pups, just for today?:_

_Onika, younger by nearly five years, pouted in her Tame form as her mother told her that she was to watch the pups while the rest of the pack was away. The young Wolfborn had heard from her grandfather that the pack of humans that usually lived in their territory were holding some kind of celebration today, and Onika wanted to see it. Her grandfather had passed a few days before though, and she could not try to call on him to make her parents see reason._

_:Pup, you are pushing your limits.:_

_Onika grew quiet for a moment before speaking again. Usually she was called 'Beta Female' by all, including her parents, unless she was in (or was very close to being in) trouble. She gave a tiny whine of apology before plowing on._

_:What if Third Sister watches them? She has wanted to be given the job for a long time, and I'm sure that she would well! She loves pups!:_

_:Why so adamant? Surely you don't want to help with the hunt or have more of your Ceremony.:_

_:I want to see the little spirits. They like me - :_

_:Which is the reason for your Ceremony. The more you have of those markings, the closer you will be bound to those spirits. I know you most likely won't be the next Alpha, but I do know that you will be our next Guide. Part of your training is to-:_

_:Mind the pups and guide them into their place in the Pack.:_

_Her mother chuckled and shifted into her wolf form, her tan and grey fur gleaming in the sun. Her mother was always more patient than her father, but she knew she was about to be scruffed if she didn't shut up and obey in a few moments._

_:The pups are waiting, Beta Female. Go to them. I will see you later.:_

_With that her mother and the rest of the Pack bounded away, some to the forest, some to the desert. With a sigh Onika shifted into her wolf form and took off to the clearing where the pups were kept when the pack was away._

_When the younger pups saw her, they laughed and crowded around, begging for stories or games or food. The older pups just looked at her for a moment, resentful that they had to stay behind and be watched by their older clansman._

_'I don't like it either, pups. Deal with it.'_

_Her dour thoughts must have been visible on her face, because almost immediately the older pups lowered their eyes in submission. Onika rubbed her eyes with a large paw for a moment before lying down and letting the smaller pups, in either Wild or Tame form, climb all over her. Time passed slowly, and finally the pups had all fallen asleep. Lifting her great head, Onika sniffed the air._

_'Ah, Third Sister. Here's my chance!'_

_She stood and gave a quiet bark as her sister, sandy white in color, came into view._

_:What is it Beta Female?:_

_:I want you to watch the pups.:_

_:I can't. Mother Female said-:_

_Onika cut across her sister with a low growl and lifted her lip as she spoke._

_:Mother Female put __me__ in charge. __I__ am the Alpha Bitch right now and I say that you are going to watch the pups while I go for a walk.:_

_Third Sister looked at her, then the pups. She had always wanted to be trusted with the future of the Pack, but her fighting skills were lacking and she really wasn't the smartest of Onika's siblings. But, she was reliable enough. Nothing ever happened on pup duty anyway. The worst thing that could happen is that Third Sister would have to growl at something to scare it off. The humans knew better than to harm the pups and most creatures gave Wolfborn pups and their babysitter a wide berth._

_:Alright. Don't be gone too long though…:_

_:I'll be back soon. Promise.:_

……….

Here Onika looked up over the heads of her companions to see the sky. Dark clouds continued to boil above and the rain came down all the harder. Mishee was now sleeping tightly against Saphira's side, whimpering occasionally.

Eragon looked around at the blasted landscape, trying to see where the pups would have been kept. He had read that the adults often dug out a small cavern for in case of rain or in case the sun got too hot for them. Eragon saw no sign of any caverns or any holes really. He was not surprised that the vegetation was so slow to grow back though. The damage had been done with vile magic, and that kind of wound on land or flesh, was excruciatingly slow to heal.

Murtagh felt a little lost. He wanted to go over and sit beside the Wolfborn, who was shifting into a less painful looking position with her head leaned against Thorn's scaled side. However, he had the feeling that if he moved right now, she would stop her story and they would never hear it. And as much as he hated to see her hurting like this, reliving the day once out loud for them would help for the times she relived it in her mind.

Arya looked at Onika's eyes and was not surprised to see that they looked like the eyes of a corpse. Their glassy stare went straight through all of them, seeing only the bloody horrors of the past.

Taking a deep breath, Onika continued.

………….

_Onika ran happily for the low cliff that stood over the human's camp like a silent sentry. She knew that if the humans saw her, they would call for her to join them, which she would not, but they would leave her things a little ways away from themselves. She liked humans and wanted to see them dance and sing, wishing that she could sing as well. However, the language of the Wolfborn prohibited song._

_Finally she heard the ringing of bells and the beat of drums and the chirping flutes that the desert people favored. Her excitement grew at the sweet smells of cooking sweetbreads and roasting meats. She had tasted cooked meat only once with her grandfather and had found that she liked it well enough. Especially when it was pig meat. Pig always tasted odd raw to her…_

_When she reached the cliff's edge, a few of the nomads spotted her and called a greeting. She sat down and watched them, her tail swaying in an easy rhythm with the music as she watched the dancers. She wondered why the Wolfborn didn't dance or sing, but shrugged it off._

_'It just is the way we are.'_

_She watched for a few hours, when suddenly she heard a horrible shriek from the direction of the forest. What was happening? She noticed that the Nomads had heard the sound too and were looking around for the source of the disturbance._

_:Pack?:_

_She rose to her feet and shifted into her Tame form. Whatever it was, she could sneak up on it far easier if she was smaller._

_The longer she ran toward her pack's den, the heavier the air became with the smell of blood and fire. Also on the air was the reek of evil, though she could not identify the source. There were evil things in the forest, but they had never attacked before… Had the Pack killed it, whatever it was?_

_Onika halted at the sight before her. Scattered around were the bodies of her pack members, some in their Tame form, which meant that they had been surprised. The smell of burned hair and flesh rolled over her again, making her gag. She tried to run through without looking at the bodies, but her foot caught on something and she crashed to the ground._

_Twisting to try to see what had tripped her, she saw the body of her cousin. The man's face, or what was left of it, was twisted in pain. One of his eyes was wide and staring into the sky, the other had burst from the flames that had apparently killed him and ran down his head into the burned grass. His hands were curled into claws and his skin, always dark from the sun, was now black and cracking to show raw red meat below the charred surface._

_Onika scooted backward and stumbled to her feet, now running the direction of the pup's place. She raised her voice in the warning that would call any survivors to her side._

:_Mother-female! Leader-Male! Pups are in danger! Where are you?!:_

_She shouted once for the one that she was supposed to be mated to that very night, desperation creeping into her voice as she ran and shouted, her pleas unanswered. She gave a wordless cry and ran down to a familiar and loved form._

_Onika stood over the massive body of a wolf whose fur was the color of snow. The girl dropped to her knees and pushed on one monstrous shoulder, trying to wake the wolf, who was soaked in bright blood._

_:Leader-male! Father-male! Wake up! The pups are in danger! Leader-male, wake up! Please?:_

_:Pups!:_

_She ran back the direction she had come from, changing, stealth be damned. Her skin began sprouting thick tawny hair and her ears began to shift higher on her head. With a howl, she launched herself through the air. In the space of two heartbeats there was a giant wolf tearing through the trees._

_:Pups! Answer beta-female! Answer me!:_

_The huge wolfess stuck her nose into the air and froze._

_:Shade.:_

_Onika, still in her wolf shape, whirled when she heard the yowl of one of the pups. The child was running toward her, his human limbs slick with blood. _

_:Mother-female gone! Where is Pack?:_

_The little boy had almost reached Onika when a black shape with bloodred hair and eyes appeared behind him. Onika howled and leaped at the Shade and tried to snap the Shade's throat out, but slammed into a tree as the creature dissolved into smoke, reappearing behind the child and lifting him up by his elbows._

_:Pack Female! Help me! Hurts! Scared!:_

_"Stop your whining, brat!"_

_With those words, the Shade pulled viciously on the boy's arms, making him shriek in agony._

_:No! Let the pup go!:_

_She tried to gain her footing but the world spun around her. Then she heard the snapping and wet tearing as the boy screamed all the louder. She looked up and saw just in time for the boy's arms to come free of his body. The Shade licked the blood off one of his fingers slowly, watching the child wail._

_Finally shaken from her stunned fog, Onika sprang foreword and snatched the boy up in her jaws and ran. The Shade laughed but didn't give chase. It made her sick to taste the blood of her youngest brother and feel him flopping in her jaws._

_'Wait little brother! I will fix it! I promise!'_

_:Beta Female will fix it, Seventh Brother! I'll ask the spirits to help us!:_

_Onika ran for days on end, stopping to tend to her brother's bleeding stumps, occasionally using her blood to fuel spells that would keep him alive. Her healing magic was poor though, and she could smell and see infection setting in. The boy never woke up anymore, even when she pinched him as hard as she could or bit him on the ear._

_:Spirits! Help him! He has done no wrong! Please!:_

_She cried as she felt and smelled his life slipping out of his little body. When he was gone, she set a pile of stones over his little body and began to run._

_:Brother wasn't there… Where was he?:_

_She discovered a year later that her twinborn brother was the reason that the Shade had attacked in the first place. Her brother had told Galbatorix of their Pack, and the role of the Guide. Galbatorix feared the spiritual Wolfborn that could speak to the spirits of the land sea and sky, and so sent Durza to kill her and whoever got in his way._

_Yet she had lived because of the rest of her Pack's loyalty and through her act of disobedience._

_It was all her fault._

……………….

Onika ended her story and closed eyes whose tears had long ago run dry. She didn't want to see their looks of pity or revulsion, didn't want to see what she was now in their eyes. She scooted away from Thorn and stood, walking away from the assembled dragons, humans and single elf. The rain pounded her like a thousand accusing fists, all saying the same thing. _**Your fault, your fault.**_

__Without a sound, she lay down in the wet grass and mud, wrapping her arms around herself and pulling her knees up. Her eyes opened, staring into the empty woods. She waited to hear the sounds of two dragons taking off and leaving her alone with her thoughts and the ghosts of her past. The past that poor Mishee had to share with her…

Murtagh, sitting in silence, watched as the Wolfborn walked away from them. Looking first to Eragon, then to Arya, he slowly stood. He was saddened by the story, and feared that it may have fractured Onika's mind slightly, but he knew that she needed somebody. He wanted that somebody that she needed to be him.

"They mate for life, you know."

He looked at Arya with slight confusion.

"If she… if she chooses you Murtagh, it will be forever."

Murtagh looked at the elf as she watched him. When he nodded, she gave a tiny smile.

"Go on. We should try to rest…"

Murtagh wasn't sure if Onika had heard him when he approached, but sat down at the base of the tree she had chosen and caught hold of her, pulling her close to him, her ear against his chest. Petting her hair, he sang quietly, for her alone. The song was one that he remembered from his mother on nights he was too fearful or in too much pain to sleep.

Hush now, my baby  
Be still love, don't cry  
Sleep like you're rocked by the stream  
Sleep and remember  
My lullaby  
And I'll be with you when you dream

Drift on a river  
That flows through my arms  
Drift as I'm singing to you  
I see you smiling  
So peaceful and calm  
And holding you, I'm smiling, too  
Here in my arms  
Safe from all harm  
Holding you, I'm smiling, too

Hush now, my baby  
Be still, love, don't cry  
Sleep like you're rocked by the stream  
Sleep and remember this river lullaby  
And I'll be with you when you dream  
Here in my arms

Safe from all harm

Holding you, I'm smiling, too

Sleep and remember this river lullaby

I'll be with you when you dream

Sleep and remember this river lullaby

And I'll be with you when you dream

I'll be with you when you dream…

Onika listened and let her eyes drift shut slowly, letting herself be lulled into a deep dreamless sleep by his low voice.

From the darkness, she knew they were watched. But they would not be bothered this night…

A/N

Thank you for reading… I really love to get reviews from you all, and the support has been… a life saver. Thank you. I'll update again as soon as I can. The song is River Lullaby performed by Amy Grant on the Prince of Egypt soundtrack. (My favorite)


	15. Chapter 15

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 15

Onika's eyes snapped open when she felt a familiar presence brush her mind.

_We disappoint, we disappear, we die but we don't. They disappoint in turn I fear, forgive though they won't._

The familiar voice in her mind made her jump out of Murtagh's arms, spinning to face the dark forest. The sun wasn't all the way up yet, and probably wouldn't be making much of an appearance at all today. The rain, while not coming down as fiercely as it had during the night, continued to pour down in sheets.

_Do you remember the answer?_

There was no way she was mistaking the voice that time. Murtagh's eyes opened in time to see Onika change into her giant wolf form, every hair along her back standing straight up, her tail low while the tip twitched occasionally. A growl rumbled out of her chest, making the hairs on Murtagh's head stand up. When he stood, she gave a harsh bark.

:_Stay!_:

Arya and Eragon started and looked over at the Wolfborn, the younger Rider looking to his brother for information. When Murtagh made a 'stay where you are' motion, Eragon nodded and turned his eyes to the Wolfborn. Arya gasped and pointed into the woods. Both Riders squinted and after a few moments saw what had startled her.

Another Wolfborn.

This creature was only slightly darker than Onika, with a long jagged scar that ran from the end of it's nose back to the base of it's right ear. It's eyes closed and the wolf shape melted into the shape of a naked man with dark tawny hair and a few scattered tattoos on his shoulders and chest, the scar marring a handsome face. Arya noticed that the design of the few tattoos on him matched Onika's own.

Onika growled angrily and took a threatening step forward, her lip curling away from her impressive teeth. The man smirked and took a step toward her, keeping eye contact with the female Wolfborn.

:_Pack Female…_:

:_Leader Male be silent!_:

Murtagh glanced at Eragon, then took a step toward the newcomer. The man turned toward the Rider slightly, turning his back on Onika. When she saw his attention shift from her to Murtagh, Onika's mental voice boomed in their heads even as the force of her barking growls pressed on their eardrums.

:_Same stay!_: _Don't you turn your back on me!_

The man's smile widened and he turned back to Onika, whose eyes had went wide at her words. She shifted to her Tame form without seeming to intend to. Her face was pale.

"So, you still will call me your Same after all this time."

Onika blinked and shook her head, curling her left hand into a tight fist.

"We stopped being… Sames after you left the Pack. You know the… Wild Law."

"So it comes down to the oaths. You took an oath to kill me I assume."

"Yes."

"Before we do this, I have to ask… When did my beloved Same start to speak like one of the Tame? Wasn't one of your oaths as a Guide to keep to all the old ways?"

"Times…change. I speak in… words my friends will… know."

Onika lifted her left hand and opened it so her palm was pointed toward the male. The scarred man glared at the hand, which had cuts from her long nails. The blood gleamed slightly silver as Onika's eyes went out of focus and her hair was lifted by a breeze that none of the others felt. When she closed her eyes, her hair dropped and she lowered her hand. Her voice was tired and sad as she spoke.

"I have seen what you are. The Dark King calls you Cain. You are to take me to him, alive. Murtagh…"

She turned her head so she could see the dark haired Rider and his brother. She turned a little further to see the elf.

"You need to go. Take Mishee. Go. I will follow."

"No. They will stay. You need a witness, right Same?"

Cain's voice was cold as he smiled cruelly at Onika. The female Wolfborn sighed and looked to Saphira and Thorn.

"You will guard her? If I fail, you will run?"

The dragons looked at the tawny female for a long moment before nodding slowly. Mishee shook her head violently, but was quelled by a very human glare from Saphira. The golden creature looked at her mistress desperately and saw that Onika had already turned her face away and was focused completely on the male called Cain.

"May we use weapons, my beloved Same?"

Onika snarled and glanced at his shins, then his waist, then his arms. She could see no straps that would hold weapons. She unbuckled her own weapons and tossed them over beside her dragon, who looked stunned.

:There will be no weapons other than those which the Ancestors First Mother and First Father gave to us.:

:Alright.:

Murtagh and the others backed away, waiting to see what happened.

The two Wolfborn circled each other slowly, growling challenges at each other and never showing signs of submission. Their Tame forms, Onika had pulled off her clothes and put them with her weapons before starting, gleamed in the rain. As he watched, Murtagh tried to figure out what was happening.

_Thorn, does Mishee know what a 'Same' is? Why does Cain keep referring to her as his 'beloved Same'?_

_Because… The male is her, just as she is the male. She smells like him. That was why he was able to surprise her. His scent is so like hers that she didn't notice it until she heard him._

_But what is a Same?!_

_You haven't figured it out? Look at them closely._

Murtagh looked at Onika as she glared at Cain, then he looked at the male, trying to discern what Thorn was talking about. He did look very similar…

_He is her brother…no…_

Before he could finish his thought, Arya spoke, her voice low, stunned.

"He's her twin…"


	16. Chapter 16

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 16

Onika's golden eyes stayed locked on her brother's, shifting every few seconds to watch his chest. When they were young and had staged play fights for their own amusement, they had tried to watch their opponent's whole body to gain an advantage. As they aged and learned to fight for real, they were trained to watch the eyes and chest of their opponents. The eyes would be likely to betray the direction and the kind of attack, while the chest muscles would tell them when the attack was coming and how quickly they had to react.

It was finally Cain who broke the standoff, a horrible grating snarl coming from him as he slammed into his sister. Onika knew it was coming and caught her brother by his hair and dragged it as hard as she could to one side as she caught his arm, trying to throw him off balance. Cain's head jerked to one side and Onika released him as he stumbled, landing a solid punch to his chest and quickly backing up.

Cain did not like getting hit. He had seen how many tattoos she had added to her old collection, and it made him angrier. He had not minded that she had been chosen over him as the Pack's Guide. In fact, he had never been more proud of his Same than he had been on the night that the Elder Guide had chosen her. He loved her now as he did then, more than was perhaps considered appropriate by any Tame people, but that was how it had always been for them.

……….

_:Same! Same, where are you?!:_

_:…here…:_

_Her voice was so weak… The younger Cain ran in the direction of his Same's voice, his heart heavy. He had already come for her three times after her Ceremony of Binding, and every time he saw the pain they had inflicted on her, pain that his own body would scream with in echos of it's connected being's agony._

_:Same?:_

_He crept into a tiny cavern. It was always so dark, and he knew that there were creatures that he could not see living there that could kill him as easily as they could look at him, but he also knew that his Same needed him._

_He found her laying on the cold stone floor, blood leaking from her eyes and mouth. He laid down beside her and put a hand on her cheek, wondering if she could see him. Last time, no matter how he called and screamed she couldn't hear him. That time, the blood had come not from her eyes, but from her ears._

_:Can you see me?:_

_:Almost. I saw things… I saw terrible things, Same. I didn't want to look, but they tied me, and I saw what they showed me.:_

_Cain kissed his sister and shifted until his ear lay over her heart and she put her hand on his back. He sighed and smiled. So long as he had her, all would be well. As long as he had her, he didn't have to be afraid._

_As long as he had her…_

……………….

Cain and Onika attacked again and again, each drawing pained yelps and blood. Teeth were stained red and long claws dripped with the blood that they shared. As the others watched, every wound that was inflicted was echoed on the other's skin as a pain filled grimace twisted their faces.

Cain knew he couldn't beat her. Not like this. Not yet. But to save her, he had to bring her to Galbatorix. He could save her where her own Same could not. He had promised.

When Onika's eyes betrayed her, he saw his chance. The female leapt into the air, her hands leading, coming for his throat. With a whispered word, he dipped his fingers into a bleeding wound on his shoulder and flung the blood at his sister. The liquid arced through the air, coming together and solidifying into a wicked blade that was as dark as the blood it was made with. The blade met Onika's right arm between the wrist and elbow.

There was a moment that seemed to stretch out forever to all present. Finally there was a jet of blood and Onika dropped to the ground in front of her brother, clutching her arm. With a wet thud, her severed hand and wrist hit the grass and rocked for a second, the fingers twitching in a macabre 'come here' gesture.

Cain stared at Onika for a moment, then whined a singly thought as he bent to pull his Same up.

:Forgive me.:

:No:

:I'm trying to save you from them. They're like the Elder Guides!:

He lifted her carefully to her feet and made to pick her up, but was shoved back by a human hand. When he looked up, he snarled. Pointed at him were two swords and an arrow whose tip glittered with an unknown spell.

"You will not take her. You won't get five feet before we kill you."

The dragons growled their agreement. Cain looked sadly at his sister, then turn and ran, shifting as he went. When he was gone, Onika flung back her head and cried out in agony. But she didn't scream from the pain alone.

She cried out for the pain that she had inflicted on the one closest to her heart, even after that dark day. Even now she felt his pain and his sadness, and the anger and insanity that was slowly taking hold. She cried for the creature that her brother was becoming. The creature that she had made him.

Eragon lowered his blade and Arya eased off her bow, her eyes scanning the trees.

"I think he's gone."

"Yes. Onika, I can… I can try to heal you."

Eragon looked at Murtagh, who stood in front of the fallen Wolfborn, his eyes going wide and his face pale.

"Murtagh?"

He came around and looked down at the now silent Wolfborn and swore loudly.

Onika's eyes had turned black as the night sky and black liquid oozed from them as well as her mouth in thin rivulets. She was moving her mouth like she was speaking, but no sound came out. Then, just as Eragon opened his mouth to call for Arya, Onika's eyes returned to normal and the black liquid stopped flowing. The Wolfborn looked in the direction that her brother had run and in a tiny voice whimpered four words.

"What have I done?"

Eragon got down in front of the Wolfborn and took her stump of an arm and looked at it, surprised to see the bleeding was slowing some already.

"I'll try to put her arm back."

"No. Don't do that Eragon."

He looked at Arya as the elf lifted the severed arm and wrapped it in a silk scarf.

"We'll bury it in the morning. The Wolfborn… I've read that they feel that once something that was attached to the body is severed, it has died. If it were to be reattached, it would be like defiling a dead body and bringing it back to life. No, I will bury it tomorrow."

Murtagh knelt and took the bleeding limb out of his brother's hand and passed a hand over it, watching as the skin closed over the wound. He tried to smile at Onika when he finished healing her, but as Eragon stood and ran a hand though his hair, he saw that Onika's eyes were blank. He knew that behind her eyes, she was still watch her brother.

With a sigh, he reached out and pulled Onika over as he sat, letting her lean on him.

"I wish I knew more, Onika. I wish you would tell me more about you. I wish you would let me in. I wish you trusted us… trusted me."

"What have I done?"

She said nothing more.


	17. Chapter 17

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 17

When Onika opened her eyes, the sun was already high in the sky. She was lying on her side, curled in a tight ball. She sat up slowly, bringing her wounded arm up to her face. She couldn't remember much about what happened after her brother had cut her arm off, but she vaguely remembered the black shape that came out of the woods…

It had come toward her from out of the woods. It stank of blood and of fire, the smell of death rolling off it with each shambling footstep. The thing had glared at her, a dead Kenbosi in one of it's hands. It walked past her and to her hand, reaching out and wrapping it's black slimy hand around the severed limb and made as if to lift it. When it turned toward her again, her lower arm was still on the ground and the creature held a smoky afterimage of it. As it passed, it stopped and breathed in her face.

It happened so fast. She saw flashing lights, fragmented images and heard disjointed sounds. One thing was a constant. She saw and heard all of the people that were with her. Even the dragons were in the horrible vision that the dark spirit had granted her. Murtagh, Eragon, Arya, Thorn, Saphira, Mishee, herself… What had it meant? Before she could try to ask it, the spirit was gone.

She heard Eragon talking and got up to her knees, keeping her maimed arm tucked close to her chest. The Rider looked up and said something to Arya, who sat close to him with a bundle of silk. When Onika looked closer, she saw that it was a vaguely familiar shape. Her stomach lurched.

It was her arm.

She crept closer to the pair and opened her mouth, her voice a croak.

"Where is… Where is Murtagh? Is he gone?"

Arya looked at her and shook her head. Eragon held out his hand toward Onika's arm.

"He's getting some water for us. Let me see your arm, I want to make sure Murtagh healed it right."

Onika shook her head and went around to Arya's side, sitting and putting her bundled arm in her lap. The dead limb felt oddly heavy to her, like it was made of stone. She gingerly lifted the edge of the silk scarf and looked at the cold flesh. On one end, the silk was stained and sticky with her blood, so she had to tug at the fabric for a moment before the cloth let go of the arm.

Arya watched as Onika lifted her arm out of it's shroud of silk, her stomach twisting in disgust even as a pang of sadness turned her heart to lead. The Wolfborn turned the limb this way and that, looking at it like it was a strange animal that had wandered into her back yard. The skin was icy cold and ashy blue in the light, the color mottling down by the wound. Onika knew that by the end of a day or two, the arm would be mottled purple and grey and not long after that, it would begin sloughing off the skin to reveal red raw meat beneath.

Onika looked up when she heard Murtagh coming. The dark haired Rider barked something to the Wolfborn, but she barely looked up at him. He tried again and Onika put the arm back and tightly tied the scarf around it before lifting her head to look at the man. She made a low groaning sound and Murtagh rolled his eyes before answering. The Wolfborn lowered her head and held the silk bundle tighter in her remaining hand.

"I'll burry it for you Onika. You eat something and then we'll go on. They can help you more once we get to Farthen Dur."

Onika nodded and handed the appendage off, not looking up from her feet. Arya rose and walked a ways away, singing softly. Murtagh watched Onika in silence for a long moment before sitting down by her and taking the wounded arm in his hands. He saw that his fast healing had stopped the bleeding, but he had missed a few things that he could see now. The wound was still bright red and it was hot to the touch.

"Does it hurt?"

She nodded, but still refused to speak. When he pushed on a small bubble that was forming in the skin, Onika hissed in pain and tried to squirm away. Murtagh used his other hand to hold her elbow still and spoke a word under his breath, which caused the bubble of skin to split open and thick bloody yellow pus oozed out. He swore under his breath and tried to think of how to burn out the infection, but came up with nothing. Before he could ask Eragon, she pulled her arm away and turned his head so he had to look at her face.

He looked into her eyes and felt a cold shock go through him. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot and there were dark circles under them. Gone was the gleam that spoke of her love of life, replaced by a sadness that he wasn't sure would go away. He wished that he could make that sadness go away, even for just a moment… but he didn't know how…

"Murtagh."

To his surprise, Onika smiled slightly. Her hand touched his cheek and she stayed still like that for a moment before standing.

"Let's go. I will follow…you."

"But your…" he couldn't bring himself to say the word 'arm'. He didn't want to upset her more.

"I will fix it…later. I can fix it. Don't worry."

"I always worry."

He watched as Arya climbed onto Saphira with Eragon and waited for Onika to get on Mishee's back before seating himself in Thorn's saddle.

"Be calm…Murtagh. I will protect…you all. I promise."


	18. Chapter 18

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 18

Onika rode in silence, watching as Eragon talked to his brother, who in turn was trying to keep the Wolfborn in his line of sight. Arya dozed against Eragon's shoulder. When they weren't looking, she would make small cuts in her skin, usually slicing into an infected area, but other time she did it to make sure that she could still feel anything. She felt so cold and numb inside, how could she know that the rest of her hadn't followed?

_How could I have made such a stupid mistake? He was always seeking to protect me, the one that loved him as deeply as he loved me… What could have made him think that the Dark King could help us? I wonder… what of the other tribes and packs? I never hear Packsong or Huntsong anymore… Maybe they're all-_

She shook her head violently. No. She refused to believe that Wolfborn were no more. After all, she was one, and so was Cain. A few others had to be somewhere.

Murtagh raised a hand to silence his younger brother. Eragon's long story about something that the dark haired Rider hadn't even really bothered to pay attention to halted as the younger man followed his brother's eyes to the golden dragon and to Onika.

The Wolfborn was sitting as straight as a post, her unfocused eyes pointed straight ahead, unblinking. Her face was still pale and her remaining hand held tightly to the end of her other arm. Both men noticed that the woman had made more cuts in the newly healed skin and the blood had dried to her skin and her scarred legs. Murtagh smiled when her yellow eyes met his and he did something that, in hindsight, could have been very painful.

With a cry, he leapt up and stood in the saddle, crossing his arms. Onika tipped her head. Murtagh's smile widened a little and he barked out a challenge.

:Follow me.:

Onika nodded and stood, then crossed her arms as best she could. She wobbled slightly, trying to find her balance. Mishee held her wings still to help steady her Rider until she was sure that she could stand on her own.

Murtagh walked up until he stood on the crown of Thorn's head, drawing an irritated snort from the dragon. To his pleasure, Onika was already halfway to Mishee's head. As soon as she reached that point, Murtagh ran to the end of Thorn's tail and sat. Onika charged to the same point on the golden dragon.

On and on they went, each maneuver growing more and more complicated and dangerous. As things got more difficult, Murtagh found himself feeling like a little boy that was showing off to a little girl. Rrrgh! What was it about the Wolfborn that made him act in such a… Un-Murtagh way? Nasuada never had gotten him to sing before, nor had she made him feel like… well, like he was feeling right now. All for a sharp toothed smile on a wildly beautiful face.

Murtagh grinned and laughed when Onika did not only run; jump and spin about her dragon in combat with an invisible foe, but executed a series of flips that put her on Mishee's nose. He was about to congratulate her when she flung herself off the dragon and plummeted down toward the jagged rocks that stuck out of the ground below.

"ONIKA!"

She continued to fall.


	19. Chapter 19

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 19

Onika kept her eyes open as she fell. The wind shrieked in her ears and pulled at her clothes. She watched Mishee get smaller in the sky until she was reduced to a gleaming shape the size of a dog. Thorn was the size of a monstrous red lion, and Saphira seemed to be about the same size.

Twisting, she turned herself until her head was pointing toward the earth, a faint smile on her lips. The ground, so featureless from such a high vantage point, came into focus as she fell. Faster, faster, faster. She could barely keep her eyes open now.

She wondered how long she would be able to fall before the other Riders or her dragon would force her out of her freefall. She liked this feeling… She wanted to just fall forever, but the others still needed her. With a smile, she sent out a mental summons.

_Mishee._

She tipped herself slightly until she could see her dragon and held her arms out to her, as if offering an embrace. She watched as the dragon shot toward her like a bullet, leaving the other two diving dragons behind. Mishee, once she had fallen farther than her Rider, turned until her underbelly was below Onika and opened her wings. Onika landed on the scaled belly and jumped as the dragon righted itself until she landed in a crouched position in her dragon's saddle.

The gold dragon shot up into the air, giving a happy roar at a job well done.

The others, however were not so pleased.

When Eragon and Murtagh landed, Arya slid out of the blue dragon's saddle before the two Riders could get off their own mounts and waited for Onika to land near them. When she did, she was smiling smugly. When her feet were on the ground, Arya was the first to get to her.

_SMACK!_

Onika reeled back, her hand going to her red and stinging cheek. The elf was red with anger, tears standing out in her eyes.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again."

Onika blinked in surprise, and then looked down at her feet. She had gotten carried away with the game that she and Murtagh had been playing, and had been trying to one-up the dark haired Rider. Arya's anger had successfully diffused her feeling of smug pleasure at beating somebody at a game they had created. She had always been competitive, and she knew better than to do something like that… Winning was such a transient happiness. There and gone in the space of a breath…

But the danger. The thrill of the fall… the imminent threat on her very life… That had been so heady. So real. Her nerves still crackled with excited energy.

She wanted to fall again.

Murtagh was too shaken to yell at Onika. Instead, he grabbed her and held her tightly to him, his nose buried in her hair. She had been so close, so close. He had tried to catch up to her, but Thorn wasn't fast enough, and even Saphira had no hope of catching her. Neither Riders nor the elf had thought of magic. His voice stuck in his throat and he found he couldn't even get something out in her barking language. So he simply stood like that for a moment and hoped that she got the idea that she had scared him senseless.

Eragon put a hand over his heart and took a few deep breaths before smiling. Really, as long as she was alright, all was fine. They were all still together, and Arya's slap seemed to have a great deal of effect on the Wolfborn. He drew some of their provisions from a satchel and held them out.

"After that scare, I think that we all need a rest. Let's just… relax for a few minutes."

When Onika sat, Murtagh sat tight to her side as if he feared that she would take off and jump again. Arya refused to talk to the apologetic Wolfborn until the pitiful whines and moans got to be too much. The elf's stony face softened and finally relaxed into a less severe frown.

"You scared us. You scared me. Don't do it again, alright?"

Onika nodded and rested her head on Murtagh's shoulder and listened to both his breathing and his brother as he informed them on how close they were to Farthen Dur.

When they were in the air again, Onika could not shake off the feeling that when they got to Farthen Dur, something bad was going to happen, and there was no way they could stop it.


	20. Chapter 20

**I Who Should Not Be**

**Chapter 20**

When night fell, they were only about an hour from Farthen Dur. Eragon and Arya led the way while Murtagh rode behind them with Onika seated behind him. Mishee wound her way this way and that, enjoying the fact that she could fly without the added weight of her Rider. The Wolfborn rested her forehead against Murtagh's back and let out a long sigh.

"What's the matter, Onika? You feeling alright?"

He twisted to try to see the woman's face, but when he did, she leaned away and turned her face toward Mishee. Her hair fell over her face, whipped by the wind. She sighed again and turned to her back was to him, pulling her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. Murtagh turned further to try to talk, but when he touched her shoulder, she tensed and a low growl rumbled out of her chest.

"What's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?"

_Maybe she is angry at you all for how Arya slapped her and you practically crushed her lungs._

_No snide remarks please, Thorn._

_She smells different now. Still like her but…different._ _Intriguing ._

Murtagh thought on Thorn's words, then raised his eyebrows. Would he be able to smell some kind of change? He knew what he thought that she smelled like, had it changed somehow?

He leaned close and put his nose right behind one of her long ears and inhaled. No, she still smelled like she always did. Like earth and a faintly smoky scent that reminded him of a cookfire. What on earth was Thorn talking about? He started to try to smell a change again when Onika gave a high pitched squeal and scooted away, putting her hand over the place his nose had been.

She twisted and gave him a glare that he didn't quite believe because she was smiling. She rubbed behind her ear again and came a little closer, but stayed far enough away that he could not try to do the same thing twice. Murtagh pursed his lips as a thought came to him. Most girls were ticklish, right?

Maybe Onika was too…

Without warning, Murtagh lunged at the Wolfborn and held on to her as tightly as he could with one arm while he tickled her side with his free hand.

Onika shrieked and squirmed, playfully nipping at his arms and finally managing to twist herself so she was facing him completely. She growled again, but this one had no venom behind it. He growled back and she suddenly snapped forward and caught his earlobe between her teeth, still half growling. Murtagh froze and shivered once.

Thorn jounced once and slammed his voice into his Rider's thoughts.

_She needs to ride alone now._

Without warning Mishee swooped in and snatched up her Rider and tossed her up into the saddle, then flew like an arrow up to Eragon and Arya.

_What did you do that for?!_

_Because I figured it out._

_Figured what out?_

_Your little friend there. Why her scent has changed. She's gone into heat._


	21. Chapter 21

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 21

Murtagh's eyes followed Onika as the Wolfborn was greeted by Orik, Eragon's foster brother and the 'new' king of his people. The dwarf seemed to like the tall woman, and she seemed interested in the dwarf in turn.

What he didn't like was how all the men, human and otherwise, were watching Onika. She had, at Arya's behest, donned a pair of warm brown breeches and a loose fitting green and brown shirt. The elf, it occurred to Murtagh as Arya carefully watched the men that had gathered, had done what she could to hide Onika from the eyes of those who may be effected by her. Even Eragon seemed to be slightly thrown off by the Wolfborn, for whenever she came too close, the younger Rider's eyes would unfocus and he was shaking his head slightly for a few minutes after she had passed. This he found amusing, but not for very long.

He wandered away to where Arya sat with Eragon, a sheet of paper and a box on Arya's lap. When he sat, the two smiled and slipped the paper and box out of his line of sight. When Mrtagh went to question his brother on the items, the Rider shook his head and smiled.

"You have a question in your eyes, Murtagh."

As always, Arya didn't bother with beating around the bush. I was about to ask her to walk a little with me to talk to her in private when two people showed up. The first was Orik, who saw the box Eragon held and grinned. The second came soon after. I didn't even have to look over my shoulder to know who it was.

Onika lowered herself into the seat to Murtagh's right, resting her left hand on the low table close to his arm. Her right arm, wrapped in fresh bandages, was kept low and out of sight. She had discovered that while most of the children around were merely curious about her wound, it frightened others. Murtagh tried to breathe as little as possible and to look anywhere but at Onika. He thought of the things that he had done while under the mad king's power, but then he would inhale and…

Well, he had to admit, it was a valiant effort.

Eragon thanked all the gods and all the magic of the elves for the barrier that was around him and Orik. Sure, the pretty Wolfborn still smelled like something you wanted to snatch up and run for the woods with, but it was easier to resist now. Orik's smile grew more broad as he held out his hand for the box.

"Mine brother told me about what happened to you on the way here, Onika Argetlam. When he said that you didn't want him to reattach it, I could sympathize. But, it is easier to fight with two hand rather than just one. Arya gave me the measurements…"

He held the box out to the Wolfborn, who took it carefully, using her maimed arm to balance the surprisingly heavy box.

"Open it."

Onika looked at everybody in turn, then slowly lifted the lid. Inside the plain pine box was a satin cushion upon which rested a framework of steel, a dark grey metal that she didn't know and a similarly unfamiliar metal that shone bright silver.

"What is it?"

"Why, it's an arm! And a hand!"

Onika lifted the object out of it's home and carefully placed it on the stump of her arm. It would fit perfectly. Orik rose quickly.

"I will fetch somebody to put it on for you. Then you – what are you doing?"

Onika had yanked off her bandages with her teeth and bit herself seven times, letting blood run over the device then putting it to the wound, shutting her eyes.

As they watched, Onika's real flesh, Eragon and Arya could identify veins and nerves that wound up along the framework along with the fibrous muscle and the dark tan skin. It was both fascinating and horrible to watch as her living flesh grew and enveloped the new framework. When she had finished, there were even small silvery fingernails at the tips of her new fingers.

"I thought that was against your teachings…"

Onika smiled at the elf and flexed her new fingers, pleased with her painful task.

"It is a sin to wake the dead, but it is not a sin to wake the living flesh to grow and live again."

She smiled at Orik and bowed her head. Murtagh took the new hand in his and studied it for a moment before speaking.

"It's beautiful."

"What are you talking about boy? The hand I made, or it's owner?"

Murtagh flushed red and dropped her hand, choosing instead to stare at the table before asking Arya if hr could speak to her alone for a moment. Once Onika had left with Eragon and Orik, the dark haired man let out a sigh of both relief and irritation. His predicament came out in a wave of words that he had no power to stop, and by the time he finished talking, Arya was wearing her cool emotionless mask.

"Can you help me either create a barrier against her or something? She's very distracting…"

"So… you're interested in mating her."

"I just said that."

The elf sighed and pushed back a strand of hair. Her eyes flashed in warning before she spoke in a low tone.

"Do not pursue her lightly, Murtagh. To the Wolfborn, if you mate, you mate for life. No ifs, ands or buts. In their mate dies, they may take a new mate, though many do not. Theirs is a very devoted bond. Could you handle that? She would feel it to be well within her rights to chase off any female who may be a threat to her. This includes Nasuada. Even I would not be exempt, even though I have the honor of being called her friend."

Murtagh thought for a moment, and Arya rose.

"I am going to play with the children. I promised that I would teach them to skip rope, and Onika wanted to learn as well. We will be around, should you come to a decision."

Murtagh rose and followed after the elfwoman soon after. As he watched Arya instruct the children, then Onika, how to play different games, he pondered his travels with Onika. She was always there, and she had always been very honest and open with him…

Could he handle being her mate and hers only?

He smiled as she took her turn jumping over the two spinning ropes, her face shining with pleasure as Arya chanted the simple song that kept the beat. When she stumbled and the rope hit her feet, she laughed and smiled toward Murtagh, who waved.

Yes, he could.


	22. Chapter 22

I Who Should Not Be

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 22

Onika sat with Arya and the newest of Orik's children, a small boy less than a year old with big brown eyes and a mop of curls that matched his mother's. Onika couldn't remember his name, so she called him what she called all children: pup. They had both changed their clothes after their arrival, Arya into looser leggingsand a loose shirt in bright yellow linen and Onika into a similar outfit of pale green. However, when they had been sure that they were alone, Onika had stripped off her clothes and sat down in the grass with a sigh. The little dwarf baby sat on her lap mostly and tore apart flowers that she handed him.

Onika listened to Arya humming a song and chewed her lip. She loved the sounds of singing, but she had no idea how to do it herself. The elf looked up from her woven grass bracelet that she was making and tipped her head. She had noticed the Wolfborn's sudden silence, and wondered what had happened. When she saw that the Wolfborn was watching her, the elf smiled.

"What's the matter, Onika? Is he asleep?"

Onika glanced down at the baby in her lap and shook her head. The pup was still awake, and was starting to fuss. She sighed and laid flat on her back and put the little boy on her chest so his ear was over her heart. The boy snorted and calmed a little, but the little child would not settle.

_I suppose that I could try to sing. I can mimic a whole host of sounds, why not song?_

She thought about what it was like to howl. The tonality was similar, only the sound had to come straight out her mouth, rather than reverberating in her head and then coming out her mouth. She tried it, but the child and Arya both looked at her like she had made a horrifying sound. She tried to mimic Arya's song, and to her surprise it sounded like the song, less like a howl.

As she continued, the little boy's eyes began to drift. Arya closed her eyes too and listened. The song was not her own, though the initial melody was the same song, but as time passed, it changed.

_Her voice… It's low and it's rough. I think that the elves would like her singing. I wonder if the Wolfborn have traditional songs or dances… There is so much that we don't know about them. So much we could learn…_

Her eyes drifted over to one of the stone trees that surrounded them. The dwarves had shown them this forest and Onika had chosen it for their haven. The elf agreed that there was a certain…charm to the dark place. She saw Onika's long wide ears twitch and the elf strained to hear what her friend heard.

"What is it, Wolf Sister?"

The Wolfborn looked around at the elf and carefully pointed toward their feet. Arya followed her finger and noticed a small distortion in the air.

"Kenbosi?"

"No. The Kenbosi don't like this place. They can't hear the words of their Mother. No, that is a Stone Ghost."

"Will it let me see it?"

Onika looked at the small distortion and made a few low melodic sounds that flowed up and down in tone that sounded like speech.

In Onika's eyes, the creature looked to be a strangely shaped man that would stand hip high on the elf, with a mossy beard and one burning red eye. The rest of it's face was featureless, without a mouth or nose, it's skin grey veined with blue and red. The Stone Ghost glared first at Onika as she spoke in it's language, then turned it's permanent glare to Arya. The sudden intake of breath from the elf told the Wolfborn that the spirit had decided to let her see it.

"Are they kind spirits?"

Onika smiled and sat up, turning the sleeping child toward it and holding the boy out to the spirit. The glaring eye seemed to lessen it's intensity as it looked upon the child, then reached out and touched the child's hair gently.

"They are the guardians of the dwarves and of all children. They also will protect women if they are pregnant or have a child under their care."

The Stone Ghost looked to its right suddenly and both women saw Murtagh coming into their part of the forest. Onika smiled and put the baby on the ground on top of her discarded clothes. Arya rolled her eyes and stayed silent. Murtagh flushed red and looked down at the child before kneeling down and looking closely at the boy.

"This is Orik's boy?"

"Yes… Murtagh…"

"Hm?"

"Somebody wants to talk to you."

"Eh?"

He turned his head and yelped at the sight of the Stone Ghost. When he met the glaring red eye, he felt a very clear message.

**This child is protected by me. These women are also under my care.**

Murtagh swallowed and nodded sharply, relieved when the creature nodded, pleased with the human's response. The Ghost glanced around at the group before sinking slowly into the earth. Arya sighed and rose to her feet, taking the child with her.

"I'm going back into town. I'll see you both soon I should think, as dinner is no doubt going to be a party to remember."

With that, she left. Murtagh's eyes stayed fixed on Onika and the Wolfborn tried her best to look bored. Her mother had always taught her that if the male was truly going to be a worthy mate, he would do something to _make_ her pay attention to him.

She gave him a sideways glance and smiled to herself.

What would he do to get her attention?

A/N

Hey everybody. I was thinking about what he could do to 'get her attention', but then I had a thought. I want to know what would get your attention. Feats of strength? Artistic ability? The ability to care for children? I have my ideas, but I want to know what you want to see.

Also, I have been on vacation, and that is why chapter 20 took so long. Believe me, I needed the vacation from life. Now I feel good and am ready to write and be reviewed by my wonderful readers! I love your reviews, so please, please. PLEASE review!!

DC


	23. Chapter 23

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 23

Murtagh sat with the little dwarf child and waited for Onika to finish pulling her loose shirt over her head. The dark haired Rider had asked Orik about what he knew about Wolfborn, and the dwarf king had told him where the library was. His eyes followed the lone female Rider as she walked a short distance away and began humming quietly before turning to him and smiling.

"That Stone Ghost…is it a friendly creature?"

"It is a…protective spirit. It won't hurt you as long as you don't hurt the baby."

He nodded and stood, holding the child out away from him. Onika tipped her head and smirked.

"It's just a baby, Murtagh. It won't hurt you if you hold it a little closer to you."

"Erm…"

Onika rolled her eyes and took a few steps toward him and pushed the baby closer to Murtagh's chest and turned his arms until he was holding the child in a more comfortable position.

"There. See? You won't break him that way."

The dark haired Rider glanced at the baby and then looked back at Onika, trying to keep himself from inhaling too deeply.

As they walked through the caves, Onika walked ahead of Murtagh. He still was trying to breathe as little as he could, for fear of her new stronger and more attractive smell might addle him again. Finally he just breathed through his mouth, as his lungs protested so little air with such strenuous walking.

"Have you ever thought that… Maybe something is waiting for us?"

"Other than the Mad King?"

Onika made a face, turning so she was facing the dark Rider and continued to walk backward. The little dwarf child was busily tugging at Murtagh's long hair, making him wince. Onika finally rescued him, slinging the child over onto her hip and fixing him with her yellow eyed stare.

"I don't understand what you mean Onika."

The Wolfborn shook her head and looked over her shoulder quickly, then glanced over Murtagh's. Her eyes were worried, and a small crease was starting to find a permanent home on the skin between her eyebrows.

"I'm just worried Murtagh. I keep feeling like something…"

Her words trailed off as her eyes widened as she stared past the dark haired man. Her arm clamped down on the child on her hip as she took a step back.

:Changing. Get up on my back once I'm fully shifted and hold the pup.:

Even as she spoke, she handed the child to him and began to shift, turning her back on Murtagh, though her eyes never left the space behind him. Her shift was just as fast as it had ever been, but he noticed that it seemed less natural… He climbed up onto her back and made sure that he had the little dwarf secure before making a small noise to tell Onika that he was ready for her to run.

He had barely made the sound before he felt all the muscles below him bunch and they were off. Murtagh leaned forward to try to both shield the boy and keep himself from losing his head to a rogue rock.

_Murtagh, what is happening? Mishee is telling me that Onika is afraid and you are fleeing something in the caverns. I feel your own anxiety. Do you know what she is afraid of?_

_She hasn't said anything to me._

_Hmm._

Murtagh twisted his hand deeper into the fur in front of him when he saw a wide chasm coming closer. He usually was not afraid of going over something like that, but then again, usually he was perched on a creature with powerful wings… While he knew Onika's physical strength was unsurpassed when she was in her wild form, he couldn't quiet the little voice in his head that kept saying that there was no way she could jump that chasm.

When she reached the edge, Murtagh tightened his grip on the child and leaned forward. If he fell, there would be little that he could do to stop himself before one of the sharp rocks that jutted from the chasm's walls broke him into little pieces.

The Wolfborn landed hard, the shock of her metal foreleg sending stone shards flying. Without warning, Onika shook, sending Murtagh and the child sliding off her back. Murtagh landed on his feet with the now screaming child held to his chest.

"What's happening, Onika?"

:Go! I will follow when I can. Take the pup back to where he is safe, then tell Pack that I will see them later. I _won't_ let them touch any of you!:

"Onika-"

:NOW!:

Murtagh briefly considered pulling his Alpha rank on her, but then he thought about the child that was squalling in his arms. He couldn't have Orik's son being hurt by whatever was coming. Finally he muttered a spell under his breath and began to run. The spell gave him more speed than he would ever achieve as a human, almost equal to that of the running Wolfborn.

When he looked over his shoulder, he saw that the wolf Onika had turned towards the chasm and raised her hackles, a low growl reverberating off the stone walls.

_Call the others to you Thorn! Hurry!_


	24. Chapter 24

**I Who Should Not Be**

_A/N: Sorry that I have not been updating lately. I've been spending a lot of time in and out of the hospital, and have been too tired to write much._

_Thank you, all of you who have read and stuck with me through this. I also appreciate those of you who inquired after me. Good to feel like somebody cares, even if it is only because they want to read the next chapter. ___

_Now, sit with me, my friends. I shall weave you now another tale this cold winter's night, to keep you warm 'til morning's light._

Chapter 24

Murtagh ran until he saw the gate that would take him to the center of the city. Despite the spell that sped him up, he was not surprised to hear his breaths coming in harsh gasps. He was glad that his legs didn't seem to feel any fatigue.

He was relieved to see Saphira standing with Thorn and Mishee, her blue eyes fixing on him. As Saphira noticed him, Eragon turned and nodded. Arya stood with one slim hand on Mishee's golden flank, her face unreadable.

"What's happening, Murtagh? Mishee said that Onika was staying back to fight something."

Murtagh handed the dwarf child to an attendant, who hurried away with the screaming child. When he turned back, he saw that Arya was jogging toward the gate he had just passed through, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

"Arya?"

The elfwoman looked over her shoulder at Eragon and Murtagh as she continued to jog, calling back to them.

"You can stay, but I don't intend to wait for her to come back. I will bring her back alive."

Murtagh and Eragon nodded to each other and sprinted after her, while their dragons stayed behind. They had grown too large to go where the three were headed, but Mishee bounded after them. She knew from Saphira's lessons about the geography of the subterranean city that she would still fit, and she would be able to maneuver well enough to fight.

As they ran, Murtagh sent out a silent plea to any of the spirits that may be near enough to know what was happening. _Please,_ he thought, _just be safe until we get there!_

………………………………..

Onika waited until she couldn't hear Murtagh's feet, then let her growl die off. She gasped as the creatures came into view, things shaped like giant spiders that had been crossed with elves.

There were six of them, the one that stood the farthest back was the only female. Her fur was dark grey, while her male counterparts were all black or brown. Their faces would have been beautiful, but their jaws were those of a spider, sharp and dripping with a faintly glowing fluid. The stone hissed and smoked where a drop would hit.

Suddenly Onika felt a wave of cold pass through her and cried out as she was ripped out of her larger wolf form. As her bones and muscled ground into their new shape, her fur remained. She fell to her knees on the cold stone and watched in stunned silence as her fur melted away. Her shock was quickly replaced by horror as her new arm began to burn like she had poured acid over it.

"It hurts, yes?"

The female spider creature took a few steps and clacked her jaws as she spoke in a high grating voice. Her long forelegs rolled a few stones around lazily as she watched the Wolfborn.

Onika swallowed a scream as her new skin began to bubble and run like hot wax. She grabbed her wrist and the slowly dissolving flesh rolled from between her fingers, the metal framework below warm below her palm. Her eyes got wider as the majority of her flesh dropped form it's frame, and the false appendage let go of it's owner's body.

The spiders took a few steps closer, the female still staying back behind the males.

"Cain said that you were stronger than you look. He was right. Most would be screaming and begging for us for death at the sight of their own flesh falling off and having their magics physically torn from them."

Onika's eyes followed the creature's voice, anger burning brightly.

"What have you…done?"

The spider woman extended a grey skinned arm and pointed at the Wolfborn, her fingers ending in long pointed nails. In her hard voice, she began to chant, the words sending shockwaves of pain through the Wolfborn, who fell to her side and arched her back. The chanting continued and Onika lost her control. She flung back her head and began shrieking her agony until the very stone that surrounded her seemed to reverberate and shudder in response.

One of the males jumped over the Wolfborn and crouched low to examine her face, his mangled features twisted into a snarl.

Onika heard the order to bite being issued, but she didn't have the time or the power to move. The male that crouched over her leaned close and clicked his jaws together furiously, thick pearly fluid coming down to cover the pointed fangs.

She felt the needle pain of the fangs three times, really, in the back of her mind, she chuckled at how small that pain was, then the icy fire that burned through her after. She wanted to shout and try to run as panic began to try to take her over, but found that the pain was too intense. When she even lifted her shoulder, the pain would roar from a flame to a full inferno.

"Onika!" :Pack Female!:

Onika turned her head from the retreating spider creatures to watch the approach of her pack, tears running out of her eyes as the pain washed over her. She looked at their faces, each so full of fear. The dark haired elf's eyes betrayed her fear, but it was the dark haired man who kept her attention. His skin was whiter than the moon, and his eyes were wide with panic.

What were they afraid of?

…

"Onika, hang on. Keep your eyes open."

Why should she do that? The elf had stopped and produced a glittering ball of light. It was too bright. It hurt… Onika wanted to bat it away, along with the too hot hands that kept touching her. Why were they touching her?! It hurt!

"Hold still, Onika. Call Mishee here, she can carry you back."

Carry me back? Back where?

:Pack Female hurt? How?:

Onika looked at the dark haired man and blinked slowly. How couldn't he know how she was hurting? Didn't he see the marks of the fangs? What fangs? There were never any fangs, other than her own…

"Onika…Onika?..."

I'll just shut my eyes. That will at least make the light not hurt. Maybe they'll leave me alone if I just pretend they aren't there…

Who were these people, anyway?


	25. Chapter 25

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 25

"She's so cold. Murtagh, give me more quilts."

The dark haired Rider hurried to obey the elf woman, running out of the room that they had carried Onika into upon their return to the city. Eragon was with Orik trying to think of a way to figure out what had gotten to her, and Arya was trying to use her magic to heal her fallen friend. He walked down the hall, slightly dazed, thinking of how she had reacted to them when they had found her, then to being carried back to the city.

She had been as white as a corpse when they had found her lying on the ground, her hands clenched in tight fists and her jaws clamped shut so hard that no pulling or pressure from any of them could open them. Arya feared that her teeth would start to break, but they didn't seem to yet. Arya had summoned a small ball of dim light and Onika had opened her eyes for a moment before slamming them shut again with a pained whimper.

Murtagh found a heap of blankets and scooped them up, spinning on his heel and running back down the halls, jumping over one dwarf servant who failed to get out of his way fast enough. The dark haired Rider skidded to a halt in front of the door when he heard a high piercing shriek that made his hair stand straight up and goosebumps erupt over his skin. He knew that it was Onika making the terrible noise, but part of him didn't want to know why. It was a single long note, strong and clear without any kind of preamble, then it died away just as suddenly.

When he opened the door, Murtagh saw Onika fall back onto the pillows that had been placed under her head to try to make her comfortable, her hair falling in a wild cloud around her white face. Arya was staring at the Wolfborn with a stunned expression, blinking quickly and trying to regain her poise.

"What happened?"

Arya's face was pale as she passed a shaking hand through her hair and took a slow breath.

"She started to say something in the Ancient language. At first I thought that she was repeating something she had heard all of us saying often…trying to learn, like she did with the common tongue. But she said something else."

Murtagh closed the door and dropped the blankets and lifted one up and shook it over the Wolfborn, who lay as silent and still as she had before.

"What did she say?"

"She… I think that she was dreaming. She said 'Where has the starlight gone? Dark is the day… How can I find my way home? Home is an empty dream Lost to the night Father, I feel so alone. You promised you'd be there, whenever I needed you. Whenever I call your name you're not anywhere. When will the dawning break? Oh endless night. Sleepless I dream of the day when you were by my side, guiding my path.  
Father, I can't find the way' and then she started screaming."

Murtagh's face twisted in confusion, looking first to Onika, then to Arya. He had no idea where she had learned the words, as they had only used spells in the Ancient language. Unless she had heard it before she had met them? But she had said that most Tame were too fearful to come too close to the Wolfborn.

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know. I could speak to my mother to see if she has any ideas, but I doubt she will be able to help us."

Suddenly, Onika's breathing became ragged and she started to thrash about, her hand twisting great hanks of hair and jerking at it while her legs flailed. She sat up and looked to the west, her eyes wide open and staring. Murtagh saw that they were still yellow at the irises, but the whites of her eyes and her pupils were bloody red.

Pointing with her handless arm, she continued to stare, her whole body still jerking in violent spasms. She opened her mouth and took a great breath before speaking again in the Ancient language.

"Deception! Deception! The evil is plain on his scarred face! Deception! Bar all outsiders! Begone, get back with you! Let him run! Deception! He is not one of us! Never has he been one of us! He ran with us! He lied to us! Now we are not so blind! Deception! Disgrace! Lies! Deceit! DECEPTION IN OUR HALLS!!!"

With her final shrieking words, her face went slack and she seemed to sag under a great weight. Murtagh caught her as she tipped sideways, looking at her ashen face with worry. Was she having fever dreams? Was she seeing something that was coming? Had her mind come unhinged during her ordeal in the caverns? He carefully laid her back and covered her with the blankets as Arya wrote all that was said on a paper, so she would not forget.

Onika's eyes opened again for a brief moment, and she smiled weakly.

"He comes. With the new moon."


	26. Chapter 26

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 26

Onika was alone.

In the dark, she sat alone and cold, with her arms wrapped around herself. Before her were two mirrors. One had a bright gold frame that sparkled in the black, the oval of silvery glass winking happily at her. The other was framed in dark tarnished silver, the glass spotted and dark. She was afraid to look into the mirrors, not sure what they would show her.

When she thought she heard Arya speak, she looked up at the bright mirror and edged in front of it. When she looked, she saw a room with little light. On a bed was her own pale body, covered by many blankets. Sitting nearby was Arya and Murtagh. The elf stood and said something to the dark haired Rider, and Onika was irritated when she couldn't understand it. She heard the sounds, but not actual words, like the elf was behind a thick wall.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Onika."

Onika jumped. Those words she had heard clearly. What had been different? Was it because she had been listening so hard this time? Or maybe…

When the elf stepped out, Murtagh reached out and pulled her arm out from under the blankets and held her hand, looking carefully at her skin. Onika followed his eyes and saw that her skin was starting to turn that sickly grey color that her arm had when her brother had cut it off…

'What's happening to me?'

"I wish I knew if you could even hear me when I say something. Is there… Is there a way to get you back here? Is there a way to guide you back to us? To me?"

She heard his sigh and watched as he looked from her hand to her motionless face. His own face was so very pale, and the skin under his eyes was dark. He wasn't taking care of himself, choosing to stay with her instead…

She looked away for a moment toward a doorframe that she had seen when she had first opened her eyes in this strange place. It was big and heavy looking, carved with runes that she couldn't read and pictures of many things she didn't know. It smelled like her family had, and of Murtagh. Where the door should be there was a black and grey swirling fog that seemed to be always pulling at her. It scared her, and she hadn't gone near the door at all these past days.

"Onika, if you… If you're dying, please… don't fight because of us. I don't know what it is like to die, but… I have heard that it's a long road to wherever you are going. And where the journey may lead you, let this prayer be your guide. Though it may take you so far away, always remember your pride…"

He edged closer to her body, his free hand touching her face.

"Take this prayer… Take it with you and let it guide you back to me. I'll wait forever if I have to."

Onika gripped the mirror's frame and pressed her face against the glass, shouting as loud as she could to try to get him to hear her.

"I'm right here, Murtagh! I'm here! I haven't left! I'm still here with you, just like always! I'll return! I will return!"

Onika jumped when she heard another voice. She released the mirror in front of her and turned to look at the dark mirror, her eyes wide with shock.

There in the spotted and old glass stood her family. All of them. Her father, mother, brothers and sisters… And at the front was her Grandfather Bull Chaser. The old Wolfborn was smiling and holding out a hand. She stumbled a step toward them before her voice came free.

:Father Male Father? How? How are you here?:

The old man smiled and sat, his joints creaking as they had in his life.

:Pup has to choose.:

:Choose? What do you mean?:

:Will you choose your past, or the future that you could have? Or will you give up and let yourself drift away into the realms of Nothing?:

Onika looked at her family, many of them smiling or wagging tails, eager to see her again. Part of her wanted to turn away from all that had happened and run into her grandfather's arms. She would never be parted from them again. But then…

She looked to the image of Murtagh sitting with her still body, his eyes growing panicked as he felt her neck. He shouted something and she heard other voices.

:Am I dying?:

Bull Chaser smiled and nodded, looking over toward the door.

:You have to choose, and quickly. If you don't, you will fade and it will be as if you never were.:

Onika looked at the family she had lost and the new one she had found, her heart torn.

:I know how hard this is. Know this, pup. No matter where you go, we will always be with you.:

Onika looked at her grandfather and smiled. Suddenly she turned away from both mirrors and spoke a short verse, trying to keep to a tune that Arya had taught her.

_And where the journey may lead me  
Let your prayers be my guide  
I cannot stay here, my family  
But I'll remember my pride_

With that, she ran to the door and ran into the swirling fog. If she had looked back again, she would have seen her grandfather looking at the door she had gone through, a pleased smile on his old face. He knew her choice, and he knew that she would have a long road ahead of her.

_And where the journey may lead me  
Let your prayers be my guide  
Though it may take me so far away  
I will remember your my pride_

AN

The lyrics that are in this chapter are a small piece of the song Shadowlands, from Lion King. I love that musical. One of my favorites.


	27. Chapter 27

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 27

"Somebody! Get in here! Eragon! Arya!"

In his head, Thorn's voice rang out in fear and anger.

_What is happening to the Rider?!_

'She's dying! I can feel it! No! She can't! I won't let her!'

He had allowed Thorn to hear him even as he thought, clambering up onto the bed and raising one fist and bringing it down on the Wolfborn's still chest. He had felt for her pulse when he had noticed her face was cold, and had felt nothing. She may have already been dead, and he didn't know until now.

He heard the shrieking of the youngest dragon outside and his chest constricted in panic. No! He wasn't going to lose her, not like this! Not ever!

He opened his fist and put it over her heart and thought for a moment. He could easily put more strength into his hand, then push down. He would make her heart beat that way…

'But if I do it too hard or for too long, I'll hurt her…'

Eragon burst into the room and saw Murtagh and Onika, then saw Onika's dead looking face.

"Murtagh…"

Outside, Mishee's shrieks gained volume. They could hear the young dragon thrashing in physical and mental pain. The walls shook every time her tail struck the building.

Eragon grabbed his brother's shoulder and was thrown roughly into a wall with a single shouted word. When Murtagh's eyes met Eragon's, the younger man felt a shiver of fear.

Murtagh's face was twisted into a mask of grief, madness and desperation. The black eyes that glared at him glittered with an almost fevered light. Eragon wondered briefly if the dark haired Rider had lost his mind even while Mishee was in the process of losing hers.

"Brother, she's dead. She's been gone for while it looks like."

"No! She was fine a minute ago! She was fine! I heard her breathing!"

Eragon watched as his brother concentrated a shot of pure energy in his hand and forced it into Onika's chest. Her back arched and her arms flung themselves out violently, making her head jerk awkwardly to one side. A grunt was forced out of her, then she was still again. Murtagh uttered a wordless cry and tried a second, third, and fourth time. By then, Arya and Orik had come with Angela. The strange woman took a slow step forward.

"Murtagh. You need to stop now."

Murtagh went still, staring down at the motionless Wolfborn. His voice was even when he spoke.

"But… But I was… I thought she wouldn't leave. Not really…"

Angela took hold of the dark haired man's shoulder and steered him out of the room, speaking in a gentle mother's voice.

"It was going to happen, Murtagh."

"But… The dream. She said that she would be back."

Angela heard the faint note of desperation in his voice. She had known, as had the others, that she had been dead for the past five days. She had lost her battle while Murtagh had been sleeping. When they had told him of her death, he had gotten angry at them, and gone into the room that held her body. He had spoken to the corpse, held it's hand, brushed it's hair… Arya decided that he needed to work this out in whatever way his mind was doing it, and had placed a spell on Onika's corpse so that it would not decay. Even with that, the color was going bad in her skin.

Angela had been rather touched by Murtagh's actions. He had not left Onika for more than a moment since he had heard of her death… He hadn't slept, barely ate, barely spoke to another living person.

Angela got him to his room and sat him on the bed. The sheets and blankets were clean, as was the nightshirt that lay on the pillow. Hot water stood ready for him to wash in. In her best 'I am now Mother and you will listen to me, young man' voice, she addressed the still mute Rider.

"Now, wash up and put that on. Get some rest. I'll see to Onika. Nothing will be done without you."

He nodded slowly, then stood and walked to the basin, his gait like a sleepwalker. Angela made sure that her feline companion stayed at the door to keep the Rider inside, then swept down the hall to see to the fallen Rider.

………………………….

:Pack Female?:

Murtagh called out softly, as if she was hiding under the bed or in the closet. He sighed and stripped, bathing quickly and putting on the soft linen sleepshirt. It smelled nice. Clean. Onika was always very careful to keep herself clean. And her things. Always neat and clean. He had once teased her by making a wonderful mess of her things, and she hadn't spoken to him for a week…

He let out a weak laugh.

Had she really been gone for that long? She couldn't have been. He had heard her breath and felt her heartbeat.

The silence in his room was deafening. He needed something to make some kind of noise. Anything! Even Angela's infernal cat!

He started to hum to himself as he lay in the dark, trying not to think of any words to go with his tune, but they came to him anyway.

Where has the starlight gone?  
Dark is the day  
How can I find my way home?

Home is an empty dream  
Lost to the night  
Onika, I feel so alone

You promised you'd be there  
Whenever I needed you  
Whenever I call your name  
You're not anywhere

I'm trying to hold on  
Just waiting to hear your voice  
One word, just a word will do  
To end this nightmare

When will the dawning break  
Oh endless night  
Sleepless I dream of the day

When you were by my side  
Guiding my path  
Onika, I can't find the way

You promised you'd be there  
Whenever I needed you  
Whenever I call your name  
You're not anywhere

I'm trying to hold on  
Just waiting to hear your voice  
One word, just a word will do  
To end this nightmare…

Murtagh felt a burning rage in his heart, but not toward Onika. It was for the ones who had lied to him. The ones that had let her die without him. The ones that made her be alone all this time! He smiled slightly as Onika's face came to his mind, like she was laying next to him in the dark. She was angry too. She had to be.

How did he know?

Because she smiled at him.

She smiled…

A/N

Wow, writing this really depressed me. I had something similar happen (a breakdown, I mean) and I drew on that for this… The piece of song is Where Has The Starlight Gone? from The Lion King. I exchanged the word 'Father' for 'Onika' though.

Please read and review. The end is coming soon, I think. But don't assume you know what is to come, for you may be sorely mistaken!

Hugs! Have a cookie!

~Deception'sChosen


	28. Chapter 28

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 28

_I can't feel anything._

_I don't know how long I have been falling. It feels like forever, but I'm falling so fast that it could have been seconds. My head's all messed up. I can't think straight for very long before my mind jumps to something else._

_My Same… My Cain. My beautiful mad brother. He said that the Tame that I was with would get me killed. He said that they were going to use me just as the Pack used me. But I said then that I didn't care. I still don't. I protected them._

_No._

_I protected __him__._

_Murtagh was the one that I was protecting that day. The day the thing in the dark tunnels bit me and filled my blood with icy poison. I had told him to run. Then he came back. And he took me back to the city, where I held on for two more days._

_I remember being in so much pain. I was always cold, but whenever somebody tried to warm me, however gently, I felt like I was being set aflame. The room was kept blessedly dim, and I could open my eyes and see the others. Faces weren't very clear, but I could still smell what they felt. _

_They tried so hard._

_Arya tried to get me warmed. She chanted spells and put heated blankets over me. She even got under the blankets herself and lay with her belly to my back. It hurt. I think I bit her once or twice._

_Eragon tried to figure out what poisoned me. I wanted to tell him about the creatures with spider bodies and elf faces, but I could hardly stand to move. Speaking hurt too. Twice I felt like I was falling asleep, then my mouth was moving on it's own. I knew what my voice was saying, but a distant part of my mind remembered that I could not speak the language that was passing my lips._

_I knew I was dying then. The Guides are often used to give warnings. Spirits know when we are close to death, and use our voices to make themselves known to those who are blind and deaf to them. That is, in essence, our only purpose. To die and to allow the spirits a voice that mortal ears will hear._

_Murtagh. He tried to get me to eat. To drink. To do anything, really. At first, I tried to eat the soft boiled grains that he gave me to please him. But when I tried to swallow that second painful bite, my throat closed and I could not. After that, I vomited out my agony, and from the smell of it, blood._

_Murtagh had left to get some rest when it happened. I looked at Arya and felt suddenly like I was sinking into a warm bath. It didn't hurt, so I didn't fight it. The blurry room was darkening quickly. I thought I was falling asleep at first. Then I felt something tugging from inside me. Once, twice, three times. Then I felt myself release my body and drift._

_I'm surprised I remember what I do. I have been thinking while I've been falling through the mist._

_I think that I had a choice as to what would happen to me. I could go and live in the past, as another Wild spirit that protected the lands and creatures that it was so fond of in life. Or, I could live in the world that was slowly becoming my home, and protect all that had become so dear to me. I chose to protect my new home, my new family._

_No._

_I chose to protect __him__. _

_To protect Murtagh._

_Not for the first time, I wonder what will happen. After I find the ground, will I have to walk to wherever it is that I am going? Or will I just fall into my home?_

_I make a face as I feel something jerk inside me. It isn't the gentle insistent tug that I felt when I died. It was a rough yank, like I was being pulled on by an angry spirit that I had previously ignored. I tried to push it away, thinking that I saw a few flashes of dark and light hair, and some green of vegetable gardens and grey of stone floors. I was almost there! I could smell them! I could even hear a few voices!_

_Then the jerking came again, harder this time. When I tried to fight it, it tied my insides into a knot and pulled harder. Then I heard a voice. It didn't come from below me, but rather from beside me, as if somebody was whispering in my ear._

"_Open your eyes."_


	29. Chapter 29

**I Who Should Not Be**

_Okay guys, you know that I don't own Eragon. If anybody thinks that I am Christopher Paolini… Hell, I'll buy them a drink for having made such a good joke!_

Chapter 29

Murtagh didn't want to wake up. He had been having a very good dream. Onika was sitting with her arms hanging between her legs, leaning forward and chattering away and laughing at him when he would answer. He couldn't understand what she was trying to ask him, but whenever he said that, she would laugh and say that he was mean for picking on her. Then it had started to rain. She sat with him under an outcropping of rocks. Suddenly she opened her mouth and said, in a slow clear voice, 'Please don't be angry.'.

Murtagh opened his eyes to see the dark wall of his room. At first he was confused. He glanced around for his brother and Onika…

Onika…

The thought of the Wolfborn brought all the memories back in a flood. Memories of her death and the days that followed. After a certain point, the memories stopped being as clear, and started to run together. He knew he had not been sleeping, and decided that this was the cause of the fuzziness in his memory.

When he stood, his spine popped and snapped, making him wince and hold still for a brief moment. He was stiff. How long had he been asleep, for his muscles to be so unwilling to move? He scowled and shook himself, reaching for his clothes.

And what was going to be done for her funeral? Onika was a Dragon Rider. She would not want anything, more than likely, but there were no doubt going to be hundreds who would want to see her cold body laid out before it was interred…

He dressed slowly, feeling his anger building in his chest as it had the night that Angela had ordered him to leave Onika and rest. He didn't know who to angry with, really. Had it been Eragon who had allowed her to die as his older brother slept? Had it been Angela? Or maybe the elf. She had always been in the room with them, muttering to the fallen woman…

When he opened the door, Murtagh saw Angela's cat was seated in front of him. The large animal looked vaguely interested in Murtagh, but then it yawned and walked off, its tufted tail held high.

_…Cats…_

He half smiled. His dim amusement was broken off by a familiar voice shouting down the hall.

"What do you mean 'gone'?!"

………………………………….

Cain smiled and finished his chants, holding his hands over the shallow pool of dark liquid. Suspended in the liquid was a pale body, its long hair drifting around its head and obscuring its face. The room was very dark, lit by only a few candles that were only a short way from becoming useless puddles of tallow on the stone floor. The pool was a shallow depression in the floor, the dark stains and streaks around it testament to the dark rites that took place at its mouth.

The male Wolfborn held a squirming child by the scruff of his neck, pushing it closer to the pool. The child tried to scream around the cloth that covered his mouth, but the sound was so muffled that even Cain's sharp ears hardly heard it.

After three more words, he hoisted the child into the air and held him at the rim of the pool. With one motion, the gag was released and the little boy, an elf child, let out a shriek that reverberated off the stone walls. Cain snarled and brought his hand down on the boy's throat and sank his claws into the flesh. As the child's blood gushed from the wound, Cain threw his dying body into the pool with the first one.

Grinning, the Wolfborn crouched down and stared at the first body that began to twitch and move as the elf child's own movements slowed. Suddenly, there was a great splash and the first body hauled itself upright. It's knees rested on the slick bottom of the pool, it's chest, shoulders and head above the stinking surface.

Bloody hair hung in sheets over the face of the creature as it moved it's head. Cain reached out and gently pushed it aside, tucking it tenderly behind one long ear.

"Open your eyes."

When it opened it's eyes, the newly awakened creature seemed to be dimly aware of it's surroundings. Then it stared at Cain, who continued to smile before speaking again.

:Same awake?:

The bloody face became sad, it's yellow eyes full of anger and pity.

:Same… what have you done?:

:I brought you back. Alpha taught me-:

The creature leapt out of the pool, snarling and trying to grab the scarred male, it's hands sliding because of the blood on it's skin.

:You break our Law! You defile me! Your Same! You defile the dead!:

Cain said a word in the Ancient language and the bloody mess that was attacking him was thrown back into the pool, where it crouched in sudden fear.

"Galbatorix taught me many things, sister."

He sighed and went into the pool, carefully lifting her by one arm, a small smile on his scarred face.

"He'll teach you too. He can heal your arm. I had to do this part. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to slip into that vile city and steal you away. I'll tell you the story while you wash. Come."

As he led her down dark hall after dark hall, Onika felt her anger slowly overpowering her fear of her brother's power. He had interrupted her journey, had brought her back from the dead…

But how? How could he have brought her back without her…

Ah… He had said that he had 'stolen her away'. He had stolen her body from it's resting place, then proceeded to drag her soul back into it.

When it occurred to her that she had no idea how much this put her under her twin's power, fear ripped at her gut again.

Her brother's cruel smile told her. And she was afraid.


	30. Chapter 30

**I Who Should Not Be**

Chapter 30

Arya glared down at the dwarf man, her pretty face twisted into a sneer as he sputtered his words again.

"I went in to say a prayer for her, as is the duty of mine order… But when I got there, the lass' body was gone!"

Murtagh stood still, his eyes dark and unreadable. Eragon was silent as he watched his brother, remembering all the times he had seen the older Rider with his eyes like that. The only times he remembered were his days with Galbatorix. The remembered cruelty that his brother had delivered was enough to make the skin at the back of his neck prickle.

Arya ran to the room where the Wolfborn's body had been stored, and stopped short when she saw the stone slab she had laid upon. When she got closer, she saw the metal frame of her left lower arm and hand lying on the ground. Whoever had taken the body had tossed it aside hard enough to bend some of the softer metals in the delicate wiring.

"We have to find her. Who would have stolen her?"

Murtagh looked at the metal arm and grimaced.

"I can think of somebody."

The elf nodded, her face grim.

"Her brother. You don't think that he may have brought her back… do you?"

"He would try. He loves her more than anything…doesn't he?"

Murtagh snarled as the words left his younger brother's mouth. His anger was no longer just bubbling in his chest; he could see faint red on the edges of his vision. A second voice began to growl in his mind. He knew it was his own, but it was lower and more feral than his speaking voice could ever hope to be.

_Is this one of the changes she was talking about? And this anger…_

Onika had warned him, but then, she had expected to be around to help him through whatever changes he would go through. He had little knowledge to work with, for even Onika had been unsure of what could happen.

Arya watched him carefully, never even flicking her eyes toward Eragon as she told him to leave her and Murtagh alone. When Eragon almost refused, she had raised her voice to him for the first time in quite a while.

"Eragon, we have no time for your foolishness. Go ready Saphira and tell Orik that we are going to find your sister."

……………………….

Cain watched as his twin slowly rubbed a wet cloth over her tan skin. The blood ran off her in rivers, while her hair continued to drip red. When she pointed to the pail that held more water, he obligingly handed it to her and sat on the edge of the tub as she poured it over her head to rinse some of the blood from her long hair.

He smiled at her, taking a long breath through his nose, happy to be able to smell her again. She smelled almost exactly like him still, but something wasn't quite right. He shrugged the different tinge to her scent off, deciding that bringing back a dead person, no matter how recently dead, would have some side effects.

With a sigh, Onika scrubbed at her hair, trying to get the smell of the child's blood and death out of her. It had soaked into her hair and skin. She picked up the cloth and scrubbed furiously at her skin again, making it turn angry red and smarting. She rinsed her hair a few more times before the smell was washed out enough for her to bear.

She was careful to keep her hair over her shoulders and chest as she gingerly clambered out of the tub, holding out a hand to her brother for the towel in his hands. He handed it to her without a word, his eyebrows coming together as a dark expression slid over his features.

Without a word, Onika put on the simple black dress that was waiting for her and allowed her brother to lead her toward Galbatorix. She could hear him sniffing the air every few seconds, trying to catch what she had hoped had not followed her into her second life. If Cain was able to identify what he was looking for, she would have an even harder time trying to slip out of the Mad King's grasp.

With a snarl, Cain spun and grabbed Onika by the shoulders and hauled her close to him and leaned close to her chest, the end of his nose brushing the skin over her collarbone.

"No…"

…………………………..

"Well this certainly changes things, Murtagh. From what I know, you are a completely singular case. Onika told you that you may change? Did she give you any specific examples?"

Murtagh crossed his arms and glared into the shadowy corners, not really sure if he wanted to talk about the subject anymore. Just admitting this to the elf had been hard enough. Arya had looked slightly hurt that somebody had not told her sooner.

But, then again, Onika wasn't one to tell people what she thought was obvious. And if she didn't say anything, and nobody asked him outright, Murtagh would keep his silence.

"You two should have said something to me."

"She didn't think she was going to die."

Arya nodded slowly, understanding. She would have liked to know though. She felt slightly as if a sister had 'forgotten' to mention that she was getting married until a week after the fact.

"Well, it certainly makes a few things easier. Finding her should be almost easy, given the circumstances. But will you be able to keep your head if something happens to her?"

"I don't know. I'll try. I can feel…she's alive. At least, she had a heartbeat that I can feel. I felt her anger earlier. She was…angry and sad."

Arya took a slow breath and carefully held a hand up to point at the dark haired Rider's shirt collar.

"May I see?"

Murtagh thought for a moment before nodding once and pulling the fabric out of the way to show a feathery scar just over his collarbone on the left side. Arya took a slow breath and smiled. He sighed and let go, letting the cloth of his shirt settle into its original place.

"So that was true. They mark each other. You marked her too, right?"

"Yes."

Arya couldn't help by smirk at the faint blush that stained the usually cool and collected Rider. Usually it was Eragon who blushed. It was good to see their similarities.

"Let's go then. Eragon is waiting."

"Yes, Murtagh. Let us go and retrieve your mate."


	31. Chapter 31

**I Who Should Not Be**

_You guessed it, I still own nothing. And, hey, could somebody please review? I don't know if you all hate this story or like it… If you don't like how I did something or have suggestions, please tell me. I may use something, and then you will get credit for it!_

Chapter 31

The room Onika was in was black. Galbatorix had happened upon her trying to defend herself from her brother's sudden fury. He said a single word and her brother dropped like a stone to the floor, his eyes still burning with rage. The king held down his hand and lifted the female Wolfborn to her feet and examined her face.

Then he ordered her to come with him, and, not sure if there was anything she could do otherwise, she obeyed. Her nose was useless for the first time in her life, giving her no information. It was almost like she had the weak nose of a Tame person, like her sense of smell had been stolen from her…it left her feeling vulnerable.

Now she was in here. There were no windows, and the door was made of heavy metal. When she tried to look out through the small opening, she saw that she could see nothing. Truly nothing. As if the brightly lit hallway that she remembered going down simply no longer existed.

With a sigh, she sat back in the corner and groaned. Her eyes traveled again about the room. There was the small pile of straw, there was a bucket of water, and over there was the other bucket. She considered counting how many more black stones there were than grey, but quickly decided against it. She had done that three times already, and each time the answer was the same. There were 124 more black stones.

She crossed the room on her knees and leaned over the bucket of water. She had no idea how Eragon and Murtagh used mirrors and water to talk to each other when they were apart, but she could try to mix the magic of the dragon rider with the blood magic of the Wolfborn.

Lifting her hand to her mouth, she took a deep breath. She would have to add to the design that wound its way around her body if she ever got the chance. Murtagh had found her on more than one occasion adding to it, and always the same look on his face. The faint disapproval mixed with curiosity and worry. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she got back to the task at hand.

Her teeth tore into the heel of her left hand, and she drew in a great mouthful of blood. When she could get no more in her mouth, she lowered her hand to the floor and stared into the water. She was amused by her face, with her cheeks bulging out like the little tree-rats that had always made her laugh. She wished she had thought to wash her face, but she ignored the thought almost as soon as it crept into her mind.

She spit the blood out of her mouth with enough force to make it into a dark red mist that skittered around the surface for a second before sinking below the surface of the water. She tried to think of the words that would activate the spell, as Murtagh and Eragon said when they did it. But the words slipped out of her mind, twisting away every time she thought she had them.

Finally, she growled and barked a few words that she thought went with speaking.

:Hunt Song.:

Nothing.

:Running Song.:

Again, bloody water remained still. Onika was losing her patience, and she had a feeling that she was also running out of time.

:Far-speaking! Water-speaking! Pack Song! Pack-mind!:

She had shut her eyes as she rambled through the words, fear growing with every breath.

:Just let me see them… Please. Help me.:

When she opened her eyes, she saw three sleeping faces. Or rather, parts of the faces.

:Pack!:

Her sharp yip startled all three faces into wakefulness. She had to laugh when she saw that all three were trying to catch their bearings. She noticed that all of them were windswept, more than likely riding on the dragons.

It was Murtagh that spoke first.

"Where are you? We tried to look for you with magic, but all we saw was grey fog. Are you safe?"

"I don't know. I look out of the room, and there is nothing there. Just…nothing. Like this room doesn't even really exist. The Mad King brought me here, after Cain struck me."

Onika felt Murtagh's anger before she even saw the outrage on the portion of his face that was visable to her. She gasped from the sudden rush of anger that tinted her vision red even as she struggled to force it down, knowing that it was not her own emotion.

:Leader Male be calm!:

She felt the anger cool slightly and become tinged with sudden surprise.

"So she can feel what you are feeling… Would that extend to physical sensations as well, Onika?"

Onika shrugged, torn between being irritated at her question and amused. Before she could say anything, Murtagh spoke again in a sharp voice.

"Who cares about that now? Onika, I need you to tell me what you can about where you are. Galbatorix's keep is massive, we could be searching for days and still wouldn't find you. What did you smell on your way there? What did you see?"

Onika closed her eyes and thought. As she remembered things, she named them off to her comrades: a room full of bloody altars, behind a tapestry of a great army of armored warriors riding dragons, finally reaching a strange door that was covered with glowing runes.

"But… something is wrong with me. I can't smell anything! I didn't notice when… when I woke up, but I have noticed it now. It feels like being blind."

"Don't worry, Onika. We'll be there soon. I'm coming for you. We'll get you out of there, I promise."

Onika jumped when she heard scraping from her door. Without thinking, she lept to her feet and kicked the bucket hard enough to send it spinning into the wall and break apart. She spun to glare at the newcomer, and a harsh growl escaped her throat when she saw the face she once loved more dearly than she loved her own life.

"No pretty words for me anymore then, I suppose."

She didn't speak. She wondered if she could use her power as a Guide now. Her twin smiled, a dark twist of the lips, and took another step closer. He reached out one hand toward her and waited for her to take it. When she didn't, his eyes darkened and he shook his head.

"Do you think I liked hurting you? You don't understand, Onika, that I'm helping you. If I had not done what I had, he would have probably killed you!"

Onika felt her heart soften a little at the desperation in his voice. She crept closer and carefully leaned her shoulder against him. When she felt him go still, she tipped her head up and licked his chin in a show of submission. She saw a flicker of surprise in Cain's eyes at the gesture, and almost laughed. She had always been the more dominant of the pair, Cain always followed her lead, no matter where it lead.

"I always loved you Cain. More than the moon. More than the stars."

As Onika watched, she saw a brief glimpse of the brother that she had known in the past. He smiled in a lopsided fashion and tipped his head down and looked up at her through his hair, then snorted and stood at his full height again. When she saw the cold gleam in his eyes, she knew he was gone again.

She had to get him back. She wanted her Same back.

Cain told her that she had one hour before Galbatorix was going to speak to her before sweeping back out of the room.

Onika sat again on the floor of her cell, but this time she had an idea. If she could just find a spirit that would be willing to help her…

Her thoughts drifted all the way to the fires of the forges before she managed to make contact with anything. At first it was a tiny ember, then it grew a little, fanned by the call on one that, it seemed to the spirit, was one if it's own kind. When it asked if she had anything for it to rest on when it visited her, she answered that she did, but it would have to be careful in the small room.

The Wolfborn shoved a pile of straw into the middle of the room and sat against the farthest wall, in a puddle left from her smashed water bucket. She first saw a curl of smoke come off the straw as it curled and blackened, then flickered into a flame.

The thing that sat in the straw was pathetic, a thin and ragged creature shaped roughly like a dog wreathed in low flames. It turned it's red eyes on her and opened it's mouth, a wave of heat rolling toward her.

_What is it, Guide? What need can I fulfill?_

Onika felt guilty asking anything of this spirit, as weak and sick looking as it was. It's voice was exhausted, nothing like the wild roar it should have been. She answered it in her mind, praying that it would be able to hear her.

_I need you to help somebody find me. Can you?_

The spirit looked at her for a long moment, then sighed. It sat back on it's skinny haunches and scratched at an ear, continuing to look her over.

_I believe I could. I can try anyway. It does my heart good to hear a request put forth politely, rather than an order shouted and threats made._

_Really? You could help me?_

_I said I would try. I can't do it by myself though. I will need something from you to fuel the spells. I'm too weak as I am now._

Onika chewed her lip and glanced down at her newly regenerated arm.

_I will not take that, the flesh that has been tainted by Galbatorix's evil._

_Then what?_

The fire spirit paused, tipping it's head to one side and twitching it's nose. She was afraid that it would not answer after a long time, but finally it took a deep breath and presented her with a choice.

_Two things you could give me would allow enough power to aid you. One choice is your eyes. The other is your heart. You would survive both. But there is something that I must tell you first. If you give me your heart, I will have to leave this place with you. We could never be separated._

Onika looked down at her clawed hands, her eyes wide. Her heart? Her eyes? Which could she part with? Which would be more painful?

_But you must choose now. The time for thinking has passed._

Onika looked at the spirit and nodded.

She had chosen.

A/N I know! Cliffie! I hate em, but they have their moments! Anyway, I really would like some reviews, please. More than 'this is good' if you please. Her choice will depend on what people ask for, so please, make her choice!

I love reviews! And cookies! (starving student. _Groan_.)


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